Channel Marketing is essential for companies to expand their selling network.
It can also be a complex web that needs structure, planning, and strategy.
With more than 25 years of experience with channel marketing and campaigns (particularly in technology), Opus Creative knows how to navigate these waters. Here’s a road map for most channel marketing campaigns:
1. ESTABLISH YOUR AUDIENCE(S)
Channel campaigns must speak authentically to the full hierarchy of audiences – that means distributors and resellers as well as end users.
That’s why it’s essential to establish WHO the audience is for each segment of the channel.
We encourage implementing an online messaging hub – whether it’s a microsite or content portal – so distributors (commonly referred to as ‘distis’) and resellers can easily access digital sales tools and documentation critical to selling your company’s products or services.
Once the content is uploaded and accessible it’s time to let partners know about it. Email outreach is critical here – but make sure to approach it with best practices as you would any other customer-facing email campaign.
The email campaign is a chance to establish yourself as a trusted advisor, while building brand loyalty and trust, by delivering valuable content that can them achieve their business goals.
2. EDUCATE EFFECTIVELY
Knowledge is power. Populate your digital messaging tool with valuable, educational content.
Developing a family of sales tools – videos, PowerPoint documents, battlecards, comparison charts, etc. – will enable resellers to talk about your product more effectively. Increased engagement and adoption by resellers means sales reps have more knowledge about your product, which leads to more sales and more customers.
The sales content must be easy to digest.
Many tactics now encourage B2B sales tools and marketing messaging to closely align with B2C. Otherwise, a singular, cohesive brand message may not reach the most important segment in the channel – the end customer.
In addition to being simple and informative, content must be timely. It’s okay to archive old documents, but make sure to adhere to a strict content calendar so users can expect to see new material every time they log in to utilize the sales enablement tools.
Once the content is ready, populate the hub and let your channel team know that new content is available via email, social media or directly through your sales reps.
3. EMPOWER OUTREACH
Along with valuable educational content, channel marketers must also make it easy for distis and resellers to reach their buyers.
“Spoon-feeding” content may be the most appropriate way to put it.
That’s why we recommend creating customizable .oft email templates that align with with your company’s latest initiative that needs promotion.
Got a new product? New content? Incentives? Just checking in?
Email templates for your partners allow you to control messaging and retain brand and design standards. In the template’s design, include space for the channel partner to insert their logo and perhaps other customized information to increase authenticity.
Of course, it’s important to create templates that speak to each level of the channel audience: distis, resellers, and end users.
Then, reps will send the email to their customers and prospects.
4. ENABLE SALES
‘Sales enablement tools’ is a fancy phrase for sales content. But all the content in the world won’t matter if it doesn’t authentically resonate with your customers.
When generating channel marketing campaigns, it’s important to keep your eye on the grand prize: sales.
However, don’t lose sight of the day-to-day relationship by ensuring channel partners can easily understand and regurgitate information about your company’s products.
Consider incentives for channel usage of your sales tools. If they complete a webinar, or successfully pass a quiz about your products, offer a gift card or a spiff for their time and effort.
Inevitably, resellers won’t care as much about your product as you do. That’s why you need to make it easy and rewarding for your partners to retain a baseline of information on the features and benefits of your products. Inundating them with complex content can sometimes be worse than providing nothing at all.