One of the least well understood activities in growing a hardware or software business is the building of distribution channels. This looks very easy to the uninitiated, but in reality it’s extremely difficult. There are many subtleties that are far from obvious and some aspects that are necessary for success are downright counter-intuitive. Building a […]
How Soon Should Your Software or Hardware Company Go International?
This is a question that frankly doesn’t come up often enough at early stage tech companies. There is usually an assumption that you first conquer your home market and then sometime WAY down the road when you are already flush and successful, it will be time to expand internationally. US-based tech companies are most guilty […]
VAR vs. Retail Distribution in Software and Technology Markets
There is always a lot of talk in the software and hardware industries about distribution through the “Channel”. Generically that means selling through some type of a third party company, rather than selling directly to the end customer. But in reality the “Channel” includes a wide variety of disparate types of third party resellers. Today […]
Structuring Channel Discounts for Software and Technology Companies
Selling through sales and distribution channels of various types is very important to many software and hardware companies. Yet channel programs and specifically channel discount structures, are often thrown together quickly and haphazardly, without looking at any real hard data. Let’s examine some of the key items that are advisable to consider when structuring a […]
Retail Distribution of Software Products
Selling software at retail at one point in time was the “Holy Grail” for consumer, home office and small office software suppliers. That’s where the volume was. Everything that a company did starting up was intended to build enough volume to get into a distributor, so they could then pursue shelf space at the major […]
