Better Partner Marketing with Partner Marketing Automation
Vendors relying on the channel model, by definition, need to maintain strict control of their entire brand, from the product or service itself to the entire marketing and sales process.
The new buyer's journey is chaotic, doesn't follow any specific route, and heavily impacts the seller's ability to close. Your buyer today is much more empowered than what they were 10 years ago. In fact, a study by SiriusDecisions asserts that approximately 70% of the buyer's journey is done online. Do you know what that means for your partners? It means their buyers are through with almost 70% of the sales cycle before your partners get into the picture. In this scenario, vendors need to invest in powerful channel partner marketing tools to help their channel partners match steps with the buyers. In our blog, we explore 7 channel partner marketing tools that help vendors deploy powerful to, through, with and for-partner marketing programs.
One of the biggest challenges faced by channel partners is establishing its local brand. From the vendor's perspective too, they would do much better if their brand had a local presence. Local marketing automation works to build your and your channel partner's brand at the local level by adding a local touch to corporate marketing campaigns. When vendors deploy local marketing automation, channel partners get to leverage the vendor's marketing and sales materials and at the same time build their brand in the market they cater to.
As discussed at the beginning of this blog, your channel partners don't come into the picture until the buyers are 70% through the sales process. A 360-degree lead view will help your channel partners understand what their prospects are up to, what they are really looking for and will help them make an impact faster.
For marketing campaigns to be effective, consistency is a key factor. But, your channel partners are too busy running their own business and trying to generate revenue that, they miss out on some great marketing opportunities. As a vendor, you can fix this by offering your channel partners local marketing automation that automates marketing tasks bringing consistency into channel partner marketing activities. As a result, the marketing activities happen regularly in the background, even as your channel partners are busy trying to make a sale.
Social media is a great avenue to put your brand out there. While vendors can engage in social media marketing and brand building, enabling their channel partners to do the same, at the local level will reap greater benefits. Social media automation tools can help channel partners market vendor products, services, and brand, effectively on social media and also keep the corporate messaging intact. This makes social media automation an important tool in your channel partner marketing enablement kit.
Tools that let your channel partners create personalized marketing and sales assets are priceless! Personalized asset generation tools offer your channel partners the flexibility to customize vendor branded, corporate marketing and sales materials to suit the local market and also to reflect the channel partner's brand, which will make your customers feel more connected with your offering.
Channel partners are often too busy working in their business to work on growing it or to follow-through on a solid lead generation plan. Plus, they sell products from multiple vendors and naturally tend to push those products more that sell faster. Vendors can help channel partners by offering them lead generation tools and by generating leads for them. Some examples of lead gen tools include personalized landing pages, outbound email campaigns, lead gen content, etc.
Using content syndication tools, you can provide ready-made social media campaigns, landing pages and microsites for your channel partners to share via social media or add to their websites online. This strengthens your channel partner marketing programs and lets you make an impact at the local level.Channel partner marketing is complicated. There are multiple elements to consider as vendor-partner dynamics vary from partner to partner. But, with channel channel partner marketing tools, vendors can bring about consistency, efficiency and effectiveness to their channel programs.
Mindmatrix is a leading provider of PRM software, channel partner marketing software and sales ecosystems enablement solutions including partner portal software. Since its inception in 1998, Mindmatrix has been focused on helping companies sell more, faster. A pioneer of sales (direct & indirect) and marketing enablement technology, today Mindmatrix is the only company offering a fully unified platform (Bridge ™) that connects and enables sales (direct & indirect), marketing, alliances and partner ecosystems. Backed by Mindmatrix's innovation and expertise, Bridge expands sales ecosystem enablement beyond its traditional boundaries to cover not just Sales Ecosystem Enablement, but also Partner Marketing and Multi-vendor Solutions Management
Vendors relying on the channel model, by definition, need to maintain strict control of their entire brand, from the product or service itself to the entire marketing and sales process.
Partner marketing campaigns play a key role in helping your channel partners generate and close...
