Five Ways to Secure Channel Partner Loyalty
A recent Forrester survey found that 65% of partners say that marketing enablement is the number one thing they want from brands. This is not a shocking statistic. Marketing enablement provides your partners with everything they need to build their business and your brand. We can’t think of a better win-win.
Channel partners that are empowered with the resources of your brand will be loyal to you. Why? Because they want to work with brands that make them money. With the right marketing enablement tools and support system in place, you will make it easy for your local partners to advertise your brand hassle-free so they can focus on growing their business.
When crafting your best-in-class marketing enablement program, it is critical to provide partners with an automated marketing platform that includes brand-approved messaging, co-pay features to remove laborious reimbursement processes, and closed-loop reporting that shows results. These are all great to have, but they can be seen as lofty if your organization is married to age-old reimbursement processes that have been in effect for decades.
What is being proposed in this editorial is no doubt a disruption. But this disruption is one that not only creates a lot of positive buzz, but also makes the marketing directors or channel marketing managers who are stewarding these programs the superheroes in their organizations. Well-executed marketing platforms create greater brand reach, higher channel ROI, and successful partner marketing campaigns. You want to a be a marketing superhero too, right?
Here are five tips to get you on your way to building a best-in-class marketing platform that will help secure channel partner loyalty.
1. Offer turn-key access to the right campaigns and marketing materials.
Survey your field to see what kinds of marketing tactics they want and need.
2. Make your platform visually appealing and simple to navigate.
If your site isn’t simple to navigate and execute from, you may be creating a barrier to entry.
3. Give your partners options.
The more the merrier? Yeah, that. The more tactics they have to choose from with co-pay features, the easier it is for your partners to penetrate new markets.
4. Be flexible.
Let your partners make decisions that impact their business. They’ll be happier they partnered with you.
5. Give your partners professional marketing help.
We don’t expect your local partners to be professional marketers, but they should have support to give them options and strategic guidance without draining your own internal marketing resources.
To learn more about marketing enablement and how you can achieve channel partner loyalty with these five tips, enjoy our fun and captivating SlideShare presentation.