While innovation in products and services continues apace, todays competitive strategy is equally based on innovation in the route to market. Tesco.com, Direct Line, First Direct and easyJet are just a few examples of innovative channel strategies as a key component of the value proposition. We find ourselves in a multi-channel world. This book is drawn from the experience of major companies such as IBM, First Direct, Taylor Woodrow and BT.Lessons are explained clearly: be multi not multiple; channels as weapons; think combinations; and design from the top, but think people and measure it. The key concepts are backed by carefully tested practical advice from making organizational change to understanding channel metrics. Based on work from Cranfield's world leading Customer Management Forum, this is the essential practical guide for senior management in key areas like marketing, sales, customer services and strategy. It shows how, with the internet and call center alongside existing resellers, and with sales forces channel management and integration a critical activity, you can employ channel management to maximize the success of your channel strategy.Based on IBMs worldwide experience and the huge research reach of Cranfield, this practical guide is authoritative, full of major international cases, guiding you to easy implementation. From strategy to metrics, the book shows how the best companies blend and balance channels to maximum sales effect, and how you can apply this in your own organization.