Whitepaper pa innovate_en

Whitepaper pa innovate_en

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  � � T ECHNICAL WHITE PAPER Using PartnerAccess™ to Innovate Your Channel Marketing August 2006
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  Using PartnerAccess™ toInnovate Your Channel Marketing August 2006 Using PartnerAccess™ to Innovate Your Channel Marketing a CNET Channel Technical White Paper Table of Contents Introduction Page 2 The CNET Channel Solution Page 2 Bringing Manufacturers into the Equation Page 2 Working with CNET Channel’s PartnerAccess Solution Page 2 Web-Based Page 3 Excel File-Based Page 3 XML File-Based Page 4 Learn More Page 5 CNET Channel Corporate Headquarters 235 Second Street San Francisco, CA 94105 USA North America: +1.877.276.5560 Europe: 00 800 654 654 00 Australia: +61.404.081630 Asia: +86.10.82616677 www.cnetchannel.com [email protected] CNET Channel, DataSource, ChannelOnline, PartnerAccess Premium, DataPaq, Memory Selector and Intelligent Cross-Sell are trademarks of CNET Networks. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright © 2006 CNET Networks. All rights reserved. - Page 1 -
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  Using PartnerAccess™ toInnovate Your Channel Marketing August 2006 Introduction In online commerce, the quality—and completeness—of product content can make or break a sale. Whereas the offline world has salespeople, product packaging and in-store displays that communicate the benefits of products directly to customers, online retailers must rely solely on electronic product content to replace the tactile and visual experience of interacting with the physical product. The quality accuracy and timeliness of this electronic product content is the key to providing enough relevant information for the consumer to make a well-informed purchase decision. The CNET Channel Solution CNET Channel recognized the product content challenges faced by manufacturers and retailers and developed a platform for collecting and normalizing data across multiple categories, regardless of manufacturer. Today, CNET Channel is the leading independent source of on-demand product information covering thousands of manufacturers worldwide and reaching about 75 percent of the leading channel partners. Distributors, retailers, corporate resellers, shopping portals and VARs using CNET Channel products have access to detailed product content that enables users to search, browse, view, and research products online. Bringing Manufacturers into the Equation Building on the industry’s most extensive electronic product content platform and deep insight into the needs of resellers, CNET Channel’s PartnerAccess solution allows manufacturers to reduce the costs of disseminating product content and information to the channel and increase revenues by influencing point-of- sale buying decisions. Through its PartnerAccess solution, CNET Channel integrates manufacturers into the data production process, enabling them to create, launch, deliver and track product content and its dissemination across CNET Channel’s broad channel network. PartnerAccess provides the manufacturer with unprecedented control over the content syndicated throughout the channel including: • Creation of new product content sheets and launch date control • Ability to make corrections, edits and changes to data components such as product image, marketing text, product specs and related products • Enhance SKUs with rich content including multiple images, key selling points, what’s in the box, user manuals, brochures, and online demo’s • Track which channel partners are using CNET Channel content for products, providing insight into product popularity, channel traction, and product mix • Individual login with filters, dashboards and advanced search capabilities to simplify catalog management. Working with CNET Channel’s PartnerAccess Solution PartnerAccess is most effective when used prior to product launch; this ensures that product content is available for channel partners at the earliest stages of the product sales life cycle. PartnerAccess is also effective for updating and enhancing product content already present in the channel. Using CNET Channel’s syndication network allows the manufacturer to update the content at multiple channel partners through a single process. We designed PartnerAccess to fulfill the needs of manufacturers with multiple levels of technical integration by offering web-based, manual file based, and automated file exchange. Regardless of the method used, - Page 2 -
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  Using PartnerAccess™ toInnovate Your Channel Marketing August 2006 the system allows the manufacturer to create, influence and enhance the product content provided by CNET Channel to our network of channel partners. Web-Based PartnerAccess offers a web-based application with individual user logins. Through the application users can use the PartnerAccess content management system to perform content related activities including: Standard Product Content Components Replace/Edit the Primary Image and Marketing Description Make Corrections to Product Specifications Add or Remove Links to Related Products Enhance SKUs Add Multiple Formats of Rich Content o Multi-Angle and High Resolution Product Images o Users Manuals o Demos and rotational imagery o Key Selling Features and What's in the Box Proactively Create New SKUs Add SKU for Creation Add Unstructured Document to "On Hold" SKUs Reject" a Part Number Launch New SKUs Control the Product Launch Date (Restrict Access/Distribution) Assign Premier Channel Players for Advance SKU Distribution Mark the Product "End-of-Life" Tracking SKU Corrections View All Submitted Corrections on a Specific SKU Verification Status of Submitted Corrections Catalog Statistics Customizable Dashboards Track Products and Mark "Favorite" Products for Easy Access to Status Changes View Active SKU Dissemination Details on “Requestors” and “Receivers” Catalog Browsing Filter Settings by Multiple Product Categories and Multiple Markets Run Side-by-Side Comparisons (Up to 3 SKUs) View Complete Product content Sheets Search, Sort and Export Your Entire Product Catalog Results to File Excel File-Based PartnerAccess also offers the user the ability to interact with the system using an Excel file template for multiple SKU updates or SKU creation requests. Through the excel template the user can add new SKUs for creation and provide new or updated information on the following fields: • Set SKU for Creation • Control Life-Cycle (Launch date and End of Life) • Update or Add Marketing Copy • Provide a URL to the Products Primary Image • Provide or Update Key Selling Points • Provide or Update What’s in the Box • Provide URLs to Rich Content (Multiple Images, User Manual or Product Brochure) - Page 3 -
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  Using PartnerAccess™ toInnovate Your Channel Marketing August 2006 Based on the information provided in the excel template if the part number matches an existing product in CNET Channel’s database then the information will be used as an update. This content will be distributed to applicable channel partners. If the part number does not match an existing product in CNET Channel’s database then that SKU will be queued for production and distributed to applicable channel partners upon completion or held till the specified launch date. XML File-Based PartnerAccess also supports data transfer through automated structured file exchange such as XML. The XML feed should be automated and pushed to CNET Channel’s FTP server on regular intervals. Each manufacturer XML feed will be evaluated for content, consistency and usability. Based on the evaluation, CNET Channel will build a specific file handling routine. The XML feed can be used to request the creation of new SKUs and provide updates to existing SKUs. In general the XML spec will be mapped to CNET Channel’s taxonomy. Some data fields can be processed automatically others will require special handling and will be processed manually at CNET Channel’s data collection facility. - Page 4 -
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  Using PartnerAccess™ toInnovate Your Channel Marketing August 2006 Learn More In addition to this white paper, IT and consumer electronics manufacturers can read the white paper “Ensuring Sales Effectiveness in a Complex Channel Environment – Overcome the Challenges and Inefficiencies of Creating, Distributing and Communicating Product Information to Your Channel Partners”, ─ view a case study ─ or launch our QuickTour by visiting http://www.partneraccess.com or contacting a regional PartnerAccess representative. Key CNET Channel PartnerAccess contacts: Eric Lundin Regional Sales Manager, North/South America +1.617.225.3465 [email protected] Tom Stanton Account Manager, North/South America +1.949-399-8792 [email protected] Thierry Carra Regional Sales Director, Europe/Asia/Pacific +331.695.92591 [email protected] Carsten Herzog Account Manager, Europe/Asia/Pacific +41.219.430395 [email protected] - Page 5 -
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  CNET Channel Corporate Headquarters 235 Second Street San Francisco, CA 94105 USA U.S. Toll-Free: 1.877.276.5560 Europe Toll Free: 00 800 654 654 00 www.cnetchannel.com [email protected] CNET Channel, PartnerAccess, DataSource, ChannelOnline, Intelligent Cross-Sell, DataPaq and Memory Selector are trademarks of CNET Networks. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Compright © 2006 CNET Networks. All rights reserved.