CRM in Action: Increasing Partner Loyalty

The Challenge: Streamline communication and interaction with more than 7,000 channel partners. The Solution: Monitor and display--maker ViewSonic Corp. was communicating key information like pricing to its partners through printed pricing lists that were sent monthly via FedEx or email. The company needed a way to improve communications with its more than 7,000 channel partners, including value-added resellers (VARs), systems integrators, PC original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), distributors, mail-order businesses, and online outlet buyers. So ViewSonic implemented eBusiness Suite 6.0, a partner management relationship solution from Allegis Corp. Using eBusiness Suite, ViewSonic set up PartnerView, a portal hosted by Allegis that provides all partners with password access to pricing lists, as well as other customized product-related information. It also provides partners with online management of key business transactions like account development funds and product purchases, and it gives ViewSonic a large database of customer profiles. "Obviously this a huge change," says Jennifer Hafner, marketing channel manager for ViewSonic. "We've gone from taking a couple of days to send out materials to having it prepared in a day and just spending a couple of hours getting it posted and available to partners." The Payoff: ViewSonic has reduced the number of people involved in the process of communicating information updates; those workers now concentrate on other functions. In addition to saving time and effort for workers, the company is also saving money by using Allegis's marketing management module as a database for marketing activities. Hafner says those activities are now paying for themselves. The company is able to do more marketing and collateral pieces, send charts that offer competitive information, and send additional production information with the pricing lists. That has led to a steadily growing increase in sales volume. Program management time has been cut from 60 days for launch and 45 days for evaluation, to 6 hours for launch and 72 hours for evaluation.