Symantec Rolls Out New Channel Strategy

Security vendor Symantec (SYMC) is putting the pedal to the metal on Symantec 4.0, its new customer-focused strategy that puts a lot of emphasis on channel partners, rolling out a global partner strategy at its Symantec Partner Engage 2013 event in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“Since [CEO] Steve Bennett came on board in July 2012, he has spent a good amount of time on the road globally, listening to and learning from employees, customers, partners and analysts,” said John Eldh, vice president of Channel & Commercial Sales at Symantec. “He was clear about what he learned along the way, which informed the strategy.”

Among the lessons learned, Eldh said:

• Symantec has great assets but was underperforming in the market;
• Its organic growth wasn’t keeping pace so the company was losing share; and
• Its sales and marketing costs were bloated—too high compared to its peers.

“This led to Steve recognizing we lacked a comprehensive global strategy and the way we were operating was short-term and quarterly driven. We weren’t creating enough value for shareholders, customers and employees,” Eldh said.

Symantec 4.0 addresses the company’s shortcomings and leans on the channel to bring value in a big way. Bennett previewed many of the ensuing changes during Symantec Vision 2013 in April, but now, at Partner Engage, the die has been cast, so to speak.

Under the new program, Symantec is following its key tenet to deliver great customer experience and is making sure the right routes to market line up with its customer base, Eldh said. “Plus, we are delivering competitive, differentiated incentives to partner profitability and consolidate disparate 20 programs into one overarching program.”

In North America, the company has moved to a model in which its field salespeople are now offered incentives to sell with and through channel partners “to drive greater culture of channel centricity and greater and earlier engagement so together we are building joint value propositions for a better customer experience,” Eldh said.

Symantec also is making strategic investments in the form of demo equipment, event sponsorships and training, among other areas, for its most technical and loyal partners, and has invested heavily in an inside sales organization to better serve the needs of the partners and to drive joint pipeline activities and fuel growth. “It’s really about business development,” he said. “It enables us to get closer and add value to our partners.”

What’s more, Symantec has shifted some of its field marketing dollars to focus on channel in the form of enablement and sharing its product roadmap and intellectual property so partners have a better idea of what lies down the road. The company also is placing some strongest field leaders into the channel organization to drive cross-pollination “so we have a good balance of channel knowledge and field. It has been powerfully effective,” Eldh said.

The overarching idea is to enable Symantec partners to excel in the areas it plays in, with Symantec delivering the support to help them become specialists and earn more business in those areas of strength.

“There is a ton of potential there with our inside sales organization and we’re doing a lot to bring resellers in so we can share best practices and understand what they’re doing well and vice versa, and find the sweet spot to drive activity and fuel more value,” Eldh said.