Driving Revenue Growth Through Your Channel Partners in 2018

Mobile-first is a big push for 2018 and with 51% of web visits coming in via mobile, there will likely never be a movement backwards. Google is also poised to fully roll out mobile-first indexing, keywords are now focused on the long tail rather than one word, and Alexa is literally a household name. And let’s not forget - a big warm welcome this year as we begin the era of RankBrain, Google’s machine learning, AI driven algorithm that’s course-correcting search results on the fly and turning SEO best practices on its head. It's a lot to keep up with!

Here are four other noteworthy marketing tactics your Channel Partners need to know about for driving revenue growth and generating more demand this year:

Integrated Marketing Strategy for Customer Retention

With a heightened focus on recurring revenue streams over new customer acquisition, marketing strategies now encompass the entire lifecycle. You can help Partners secure retention sales by encouraging them to create content that speaks specifically to existing clients. Content such as emails, newsletters, videos, blogs and podcasts are great examples, especially when your Partners include social promotion as part of their integrated marketing plan. And don’t forget to remind them to collaborate internally, across sales, marketing, customer service and support in order to develop and execute a more holistic retention-marketing strategy.

Content is Still King… or is it?

Buyers don’t get too excited about brand stories anymore. Rather, they want to cut to the chase and understand how XYZ-solution will help them be better, faster, and/or stronger in their industry. Partners must understand that word-of-mouth marketing is making a comeback. Not that it ever faded, but (ironically) we stopped talking about it. To give Partners a leg up, remind them why references, reviews, and testimonials are king in today’s market, especially when it comes to lead generation, and encourage them to participate in networking both on and offline.

Getting Out of the Box

Personal connections can get away from us, especially on social media where many are vying to get noticed instead of noticing what others are doing and showing curiosity. Connecting authentically matters. In fact, this year, we are going to see a continued shift toward personalization as companies become more hyper-focused on having a presence where their customers ‘hang-out’ online. As Vendors, you can lead by example and demonstrate how creating content that's more personal, helpful, and educational drive better results. 

Creativity as a Differentiator

Often the next amazing blog idea anyone can think of has already been fully vetted and covered in the blog-o-sphere because we’ve been churning and burning content for years now - to the point we’re drowning in a sea of it. You must prepare Partners to view creativity as a trending differentiator in the same way companies use culture to set them apart.

With so much innovation in sales and marketing, it’s no surprise we’re challenged on where to focus to help Partners drive results. If you integrate the strategies and tactics highlighted above, with a back to the basics approach, you will be amazed at the traction they’ll see.

Have questions or just want to brainstorm ideas for effective to-and-through-Partner marketing? Our team of experts is here to help, or start with an e-Book and please let us know your thoughts, we love to chat!