marketing to build a reputation with the channel - resellers, vars and system integrators

Resellers…and how to attract them

B2B Marketing InTech

• B2B tech PR consultancy• 30 years old• Entirely commercially-focused• Insight-driven• The Thinking Man’s Agency – PRCA

• Head of Business Technology• 10 years in channel-focused programmes for

UK B2B tech companies

Who are we?

• We lost patience• Different objectives and audiences require different

tactics• We created our own Audience Insight initiative –

Catalyst

One size does NOT fit all

• Very few tech vendors only sell direct• Lack knowledge of audience, or resources to market to

them• Lack of sales resource• New sector or geography

• Need to actively attract channel partners

• But this isn’t the same as marketing for direct sales leads

We decided to find out HOW it’s different

Marketing to the channel

ChannelHow resellers operate

Understanding the channelHow often are you actively seeking out new vendors?

Constantly

At least once a quarter

At least once every six months

Annually

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

We tend to simply "stumble across" vendors

Enabling inclusion on a particular consortium / framework etc.

Plugging a hole for a particular commercial opportunity

Need to evolve / grow the current portfolio

Customer / market demand

Looking for competitive advantage

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

What triggers the search?

How frequently do you sign up a new vendor?

Less frequently than annually

Annually

At least once every six months

At least once a quarter

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Conclusions

• Resellers are on a continual hunt for new tech vendors

• Their searching is constant, targeted and purposeful

• They are looking for specific vendors for specific customer / market needs

So how does a vendor make sure of inclusion on the short list?

Understanding the channel

What to doWhat Messages, Content &Channels to use

Influential MessagesMessage Score /10

The technology’s specs and performance 9.74

Customer demand for tech category 9.19

Vendor’s company stability 8.92

Provision of support structure 8.46

Customer demand for specific brand 8.06

An attractive commission structure 7.42

Deal registration process and protection of leads from vendor’s direct sales 7.32

The vendor’s development roadmap 6.62

Local support resource 6.03

Strong training programme 5.67

Marketing toolkits 5.36

Local sales presence 4.85

Credibility

Commercial Collaboration

Support

ChannelChannel Score /10

Peer recommendation 8.61

Word-of-mouth 8.05

Distributor recommendation 7.53

Industry events and trade shows 7.24

Industry analysts 6.75

Internet search 6.31

Trade press coverage 5.79

National press coverage 4.44

Social media 4.02

Networks

Profile & Discoverability

Ineffective

ContentContent Score /10

Case studies 8.24

Analyst reports 7.71

Commentary in industry media 7.35

White papers 6.95

News announcements and press releases 6.54

Webinars 5.95

Video 5.57

Blogs 4.63

Social media posts 3.97

Evidence

Thought Leadership

Social Media

Rich Media

Momentum

What not to do

Don’t just issue press releases on version updates and senior hires. Show me what you think!

Don’t claim to be the “next best thing” – tell me what you’re going to do, who agrees with your plan

and how you are accountable

Don’t bash competitors – be

more subtle!

Many tech companies list features as if they’re the only vendors that offer them. Much better to show

me benefits, value and differentiators

Don’t rebadge old ideas as innovative. Be genuinely insightful. A picture of a cloud doesn’t make it a cutting-edge service!

I don’t download whitepapers unless they are

genuinely impressive. Too many are copy and paste jobs and have no depth

Too much reliance on quality not

quantity of messages

• Emphasise credibility – specs, customer demand & stability

• Does your programme clearly support and profit the channel?

• Influence networks and build profile via• Trade events• Analysts• SEO• Trade media

• Case studies and analyst reports are the most important pieces of content, but must be supported by white papers thought leadership and regular announcements

How to build a programme

• Similarities:• Low rank of national media and social• High rank of networks and peers

• Differences:• IT buyers rely on search far more than the

channel• IT buyers want white papers and thought

leadership more than case studies and market evidence – the reverse is true for the channel

• Industry analysts and their reports are far more important to the channel than to IT buyers

How does this compare to direct?

ThanksWill GardinerHead of Business TechnologyCCgroup

www.ccgrouppr.com

will.gardiner@ccgrouppr.com0203 818 7190