Data marketing many pipeline and revenue teams, channel teams are under significant pressure and expectations to drive growth. Despite macroeconomic uncertainties, executives remain optimistic and there is a general desire for collaboration among suppliers, partners and distributors.
To shed light on current trends within the EMEA partner data 99 acres database marketing ecosystem, we spoke to three experts: Neil Langridge (E92Plus), Vijay Mistry (Cisco’s ThousandEyes) and Simon Quicke (MicroScope). Here are three key takeaways from our conversation on how channel marketers can adapt their programs for greater success.
Addressing the expertise and skills gap in digital marketing
One of the key issues our experts raised was how to make a good briefing and why is it important? that many channel teams still have gaps in digital marketing skills, which is slowing down the potential success of specific programs. “The pandemic has revealed that many teams in the channel channel are not yet fully digitally savvy,” says MicroScope’s Simon Quicke. Panelists noted that this is not unique to channel marketers: they also see room for improvement in the skills of salespeople and account managers.
Named account managers are key because
Yhey have the opportunity to help marketers who don’t have andorra business directory enough training in soft skills. They can share their understanding of the IT landscape and translate it into a conversation with prospects and customers,” says Vijay Mistry.
So how can suppliers help bridge this gap for their channel partners
According to Simon Quicke, it will take more than well-designed materials. “I spoke to a reseller late last year who had received a ‘template’ press release from a supplier but didn’t know what to do with it. So he contacted me and said, ‘I need help,’” he recalls.
Vendors who can go the extra mile by proactively helping their partners with digital will see increased success in their campaigns and overall partnerships.
There is a real willingness to learn among partners
It’s data marketing good to hear that more and more vendors are directing this activity to partners,” says Neil Langridge of E92Plus. “The key is to make sure there is a willingness to co-invest and drive these activities together.”
Provide contextual information on the evolving
Channel partners can also benefit from additional insights into the IT environment in which their customers operate, as well as their customers’ needs. Due to their size, scale and reach, many vendors have greater visibility into the many communities they are a part of, whether that’s the partner community, other vendors or their own technology solutions. This means they are uniquely positioned to help educate partners on market trends and changes, so that partners can in turn be more effective conduits to customers.
We do a lot of training on products
Cybersecurity fundamentals, buying profiles and the evolution of the IT buyer…” says Neil Langridge. “It’s about empowering our partners to open up the conversation and be able to talk to the customer to understand what their challenges are.”
Mistry believes that market knowledge
Can be used to help salespeople develop soft skills. “A customer service representative can turn a reactive conversation—like sending an email to a customer based on a query—into a very proactive conversation if the customer service representative is confident enough to ask, ‘Why? This little note means a lot. Why are you buying this? What is it for?’”
Suppliers who can help share information with data marketing their partners enable them to have more effective and fruitful conversations with buyers.
Track stock performance at every stage
Each partner has its own set of tools and mechanisms to measure the performance and success of these actions, making it nearly impossible for channel marketers to have a standard way to measure the ROI of their investments. However, all players need a way to measure short- and long-term success.