Julie Bennani's 2010 Marching Orders
On Monday, we included a couple of the "Marching Orders 2010" essays from the January issue of Redmond Channel Partner magazine. Continuing as promised, here's the entry from Julie Bennani, a general manager of the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group, with advice for partners to transition into the new Microsoft Partner Network:
"Microsoft is in the midst of the biggest technology launch wave in the company's history -- and with every new innovation comes additional opportunity for you, our partners. We know that you're facing tremendous economic and business challenges, but we see you rising to those challenges, and we're working hard to help you seize the opportunities that come with our offerings.
"In July 2009, at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), we announced that the Microsoft Partner Program was evolving into the MPN. The transition is based first and foremost on your feedback and feedback from our mutual customers. You told us that you need deep technology and business expertise, marketplace differentiation, customer opportunity and partner-to-partner networking. We took this feedback and directly reflected it in the MPN.
"We're simplifying the competency structure to align with how customers buy and how you connect with them. We've revamped our membership options to allow our most dedicated partners to better differentiate themselves and sustain competitive advantage, while enabling other compelling connection points for the rest of our ecosystem.
"Another important aspect of the MPN is its greater emphasis on relationships. Partners can more easily engage with other partners, customers and Microsoft to create meaningful connections through communities like the Microsoft Partner Network Community, Digital WPC and the MPN's presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. Partners who engage in partner-to-partner networking find it helps build their business, improves profitability and better enables them to compete. Digital marketing and social media training are also available for you via the Partner Marketing Center.
"With a focus on customer needs, the MPN prioritizes connecting customers with the right partners. More than 2.3 million customer visits occur on average each month on our online marketplaces, such as Microsoft Pinpoint, which -- beyond the connection and lead opportunity -- also provide partners with online selling support, business analytics and lead-qualification information to help attract and engage customers. The results of these connections are evident in a recent IDC study, which found that Microsoft partners earn $8.70 for every $1 of Microsoft revenue.
"The MPN will continue to evolve with our ongoing conversations with our partners. Recent evidence of our response to feedback and customer centricity is the launch on Nov. 20 of the simplified Core IO competencies and improved online experience enhancements.
"Partner Call to Action: Now is an opportune time to become familiar with the new MPN requirements, including participation in Customer Satisfaction measurement for all Gold Certified Partners. Also, adopt, deploy and extend our latest technology and use our resources to expand your network and make it easier for customers to find you. Keep the feedback coming to let us know how we can help you continue to innovate in the market to benefit our mutual customers and capture new business opportunities for your organization."
Posted by Scott Bekker on January 06, 2010