The Do’s and Don’ts of Channel Marketing

Focus campaign messaging on customer challenges: Accuracy is critical to ensure that messaging resonates with customers. Leverage data insights from previous campaigns in tandem with sales feedback and survey findings (if possible) to inform your messaging and the pain points it needs to address.

Keep messaging simple and avoid overly technical language: Less is more when creating channel content. Simple, accessible language that is not overly technical is essential for ensuring that customers are engaged and understand your value proposition. Leveraging a variety of content formats is also ideal for meeting the preferences of different audiences.

Build your campaigns to be multi-touch and multi-channel with lead nurturing: Creating and distributing campaigns across multiple channels not only lends variety, but it also allows for more methods of outreach for partner sales teams. Deploying multi-touch strategies with lead nurturing is also essential for building trust and stronger relationships with leads at the same time as they are qualified by their engagement.

Do not restrict lead generation windows: Given the individual nature of lead needs, pain points, and even how their buying committees are structured, lead generation may differ depending on each contact. Avoid placing time limits on lead generation and instead, consider strategies on how to motivate conversions with campaigns.

Keep on top of all potential leads to maximize conversions: Tracking lead progression is crucial for informing necessary adjustments to live campaigns, including additional resources for specific leads. This is another reason why building a library of assets for partners to utilize as needed is a powerful tactic.

Communicate regularly with partners: Maintaining an open line of communication with partners allows you to field feedback that can inform the optimization of current and future campaigns. Encouraging this also helps to support vendor-partner alignment and better performance as a result.

Encourage cooperation between indirect and direct marketing teams: Considering the varying skill sets of each partner, making sure that indirect and direct teams cooperate by sharing insights and resources guarantees that partners have the support they need. This is particularly true for training channel partner marketing teams on the latest trends and strategies for them to leverage in campaigns.

Synchronize traditional and channel marketing campaigns where relevant: Many vendors keep their corporate (or traditional marketing) and channel campaigns very separate. However, there are usually opportunities for both to complement one another. For example, building your brand and awareness with non-channel campaigns can be of great benefit to your business and partners.