Customer Reviews

The Channel Advantage

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I just returned from a conference in Sydney at which Mr Friedman was the keynote speaker. Mr Friedman is one of the leading strategists in the world today in the area of channel strategy. I have recently read this book The Channel Advantage, and it is excellent. Although it is introductory in nature it addresses virtually every issue today's channel manager or executive will encounter. Smaller companies can use this book to develop a clear sense of the Big Picture for growing their businesses. For larger companies the chapters on channel integration and economics will prove most useful.

This book is a great read for the company looking to expand its market penetration through more indirect marketing methods. The content is written in a format which is very organized and properly summerized at the end of each chapter. I found that as I read through the content - several questions arose; but, in turn, finding answers to those questions immediately as I read further. The authors do a wonderful job of presenting the content in a easy to understand format. The book includes several charts and graphs that are useful in designing your own channel program.

Cool book! Looks at all sorts of issues for today's channel strategist. The authors really hammer home the theme that your channel strategy must be about your customers and how they want to do business, which is often overlooked. There are just a bare minimum of silly buzzwords, and the authors have written a serious book with lots of detailed (and thankfully relevant) examples, case studies, and concise, actionable ideas.

The Channel Advantage is one of the first books I read on Channel Program Development. I keep it on my desk and refer to it often.
The first time you read this book you'll be introduced to Friedman's and Furey's arguments for viewing the channel as "the" competitive advantage for a sales organization, something more powerful than the brand strategies being cooked up in the marketing departments. For an organization invested heavily in one channel strategy, the authors use a comparison/contrast method to demonstrate the relative merits of different channel strategies: direct sales, VAR sales, telemarketing, and Internet. Without arguing for one strategy over another, the authors will open your eyes to aspects of a strategy you haven't considered. For instance, until reading The Channel Advantage, I've been negative on the Internet strategy, but these guys will show you how to make it work without completely undercutting your sales force.
The second time you read this book, you will refer to p.187 for the chart illustrating Channel Mix and Integration. It visually illustrates a plan for creating the right combination of your channel strategy through alignment of your sales process. It makes the powerful argument that each channel strategy can be used at different times in the sales process, to help move it along and shorten it. The Channel Advantage is a "power tool" that helps you analyze how to invest your limited resources in a "portfolio" of channels and to measure your performance. Read Part One and Part Two one time through, but keep referring to Part Three.
The writing in Channel Advantage is academic, but there's a lot of red meat here. Strongly recommend for the experienced Channel Manager or the Sales Manager who wants to learn more about how channels can add to his/her performance.

Very interesting book for those of you who really need a comprehensive, thorough, and easy to implement strategy regarding distribution channels. It changed my previous perception about channels as a consequence, and create a new perspective about channels as a source of new business and new alternatives of go to market. In addition, it gives an almost prescriptive list of to-do things in order to create a channel model, and to measure its impact.

This is an excellent book, and the first one I have read (or seen) that looks at *all* the issues involved in building a channel strategy from top to bottom. The case studies are interesting and revealing. Friedman and Furey explain why a channel strategy must be based on an understanding of how/where/why customers buy, and specifically how to achieve that alignment with customers. I highly recommend it for sales, marketing and channel executives

This book is a nice easy read lesson in the highlights of channel strategy. The book provides concise questions any channel strategists needs to ask themselves when planning sales channels for their products. Well worth the read.

This manageable book outlines the basics, and some of the not-so-basics, of "Go-to-Market" strategy. In an easy-to-read book punctuated with contemporary and ultra-relevant case examples (such as Dell and Amazon), Furey and Friedman explain why it pays to constantly rethink channel strategy. Since reading it, I catch myself paying a lot more attention to things like "channel mix" and "coverage".

This book is great for sales, marketing, and finance executives who are faced with common modern-day business problems such as declining margins and increasing Wall Street expectations. Those who have already discovered the channel advantage, such as Dell and Amazon, have witnessed first hand how important "the new sales and marketing" is for success in today's business world.

I honestly don't know how this book could have been better - I learned so much from that I can put to immediate use in building a reseller channel. There are a few other books out there on channels but this one is understood by everyone in the field to be the bible of channel strategy.

The Channel Advantage addresses the issue of "how to sell" effectively through a portfolio of sales channels.

The book helps practising marketing professionals to evolve an effective go to market strategy. A strategy that effectively uses multiple sales channels- the conventional ones like the direct sales force, Value Added Resellers(VARS)as well as new channels like the internet and call centers.

The book provides an overview of how to work with multiple channels but does not cover any one type of channel in great detail. This tends to be a little unsettling for the practising professional. However this is understandable taking into account the vast nature of the topics being covered.

Overall a good book and gives a good insight into how to reach more customers, sell more products and make more profit.