New and improved Canon Partner Programme launched

Focus on training, marketing support and increased revenue through solutions - Independent evaluation to categorise Canon accredited Premier or Elite partners - New programme reinforces Canons position as world class supporter to the partner channel

Canon UK, leader in digital imaging and technology, have announced the launch of a new programme that further solidifies its relationship with the reseller market.  The Canon Partner Programme will provide Canon Reseller Partners with a range of tools to drive increased revenues and help differentiate themselves from the competition.  The Canon Partner Programme is further evidence of Canons ongoing commitment to its Reseller Partners, offering a unique blend of marketing and development in addition to highly profitable products and solutions. 

The Canon Partner Programme is broken down into four components; Marketing, Learning & Development, Products and Solutions and Service and Support.  The wide range of activities covered within the programme will enable Canon Reseller Partners to achieve maximum productivity and efficiency throughout their business, which in turn leads to higher revenues, controlled costs and increased profit.  These include:

Marketing

• Access to Canons marketing expertise and PR support, showroom collateral, exhibition support and product roadmaps
• Invitation to Annual Dealer Principle Conference and bi-annual focus groups
• Incentives and the ability to market themselves using Canon Create a host of direct mail and invite templates 

Learning & Development

• Courses in professional selling, web professional selling, negotiation, financial and account management

 Product & Solutions

• Pre- and post-sales support and solutions training
• Use of Canons Professional Service Consultants
• Bi-annual solutions seminars, focus groups and product exclusivity

Service & Support

• Access to service documentation, S-PLUS, the European Competence Network and HelpDesk in order to increase their operational efficiency
• Technical Accreditation Programme for Reseller Technicians to ensure that they are fully trained on Canon products and are able to offer their customers the best possible service

Geoff Slaughter, Director Canon Partner Programme, comments, We feel that its crucial to work alongside our Reseller Partners to help them grow with us and by offering an exhaustive support package we are providing a fast track to higher profits.  In addition to this, working closely with the channel ensures that end users get the best information and advice about our products as well as the service levels you would expect from Canon itself.

Having been the first in its industry to launch a channel programme in 1998, Canon has a great deal of history with the reseller market.  The companys core objective in 1998 was to help Reseller Partners in the move from analogue to digital, offering them training in the latest IT knowledge and expertise.  The programme was updated in 2003 and focused more on business development with Canon offering a broader range of assistance to its Reseller Partners.  The current Canon Partner Programme is the next logical step as Canon expands its assistance in order to help Reseller Partners to sell solutions. 

The overall programme will centre on an accreditation system using a balanced scorecard approach which will be completed by independent organisation, to ensure consistency.   To begin with, the programme is open to Selective Distribution Reseller Partners that will be split between Premier and Elite Partners but as the programme develops, more partners will come on board.

Geoff Slaughter continues, We want to make the Canon Partner Programme available to as many of our Reseller Partners as possible and we are confident that this programme positions Canon as a world class supporter of the channel.