Is the partner marketing campaign-in-a-box dead?

Vendors should start integrating with the marketing tools their partners use, not the other way around, argues Foursys' Andy Wool

As end-user behaviour - and more specifically the buying behaviour of end users - changes, I find myself thinking how quickly do modern marketing methods adapt to align, or become as closely aligned as possible.

This leads to me thinking about channel marketing. As a marketing director for a specialist partner in the UK, I'm always looking to stay ahead of the curve as much as possible.

I wonder how quickly the channel is to adapt to these trends and if it's slow, why?

This brought me to memories of the good old campaign-in-a-box: a .zip file normally distributed via partner portals that contains the material and a plan of action (if you're lucky!) for partners to execute marketing campaigns.

Are these still relevant in today's marketing ecosystem? Or are they heading for similar adoption and RoI rates as direct mail campaigns?

Way back when...

I remember how campaigns-in-a-box were all the rage just a few years ago; a way of enabling partners to carry out campaigns that are on message with the vendor.

Partners could access all the assets they needed, picking those to which they thought their audience would be most receptive. If you happened to work with a really switched-on vendor they'd even include an implementation plan - a timeline when you should execute which activities, and when.

This was of course totally industry standard. And, if we're honest, it still is when it comes to channel marketing, right? But should it be? An almost exclusive outbound strategy using predominantly a single channel of distribution: email.

That doesn't sound very 2017 to me. Where's the content marketing? Where's the social engagement? Where's the inbound lead generation? Do I even dare suggest including a hint of account-based marketing (ABM)? Is a longer-term SEO plan completely out of the question?

Advances in partner marketing

Here's why I think campaigns-in-a-box, in their current form, aren't going to be around for much longer. Partners, for all their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to marketing, are catching up on the tech used.

You'll be hard pressed to find a partner that doesn't have an automated marketing system today, let alone no CRM. That wasn't the case a few years ago.

With the advance in technology, the techniques partners use are becoming more sophisticated too. Sure, little to none rank number one on Google for anything too meaningful away from vendor/partner-specific keywords. But partners are thinking about SEO and domain authority. It's on their agenda for the first time.

They are using content marketing strategies and engaging with customers and prospects on social media. Their marketing resources have risen, and with it their overall knowledge. Partners are doing a much better job at communicating how they can add value to end users, and with which key vendors, all by numerous marketing tactics.

The importance of alignment and enablement

I've been saying it for a little while now: the biggest opportunity I see in channel marketing for vendors is improving enablement and alignment with their partners.

Long gone are the days of pushing out content or a campaign-in-a-box. Vendors need to look at integrating with partner marketing tools used, not the other way around.

They need to find out the nuances of their partners' marketing efforts - their strengths, their weaknesses - and then provide an agreed marketing strategy. Vendors have access to excellent internal resources and external agencies that could offer a tonne of value to partners.

When was the last time, Mr or Ms Vendor, that you invited your paid search executive in for an hour to talk to a key partner about how they could improve their PPC performance? Or asked your copy writer to give a few tips to a partner that's struggling to create blogs that get interest?

Future predictions

I'm fairly confident that the most successful vendors in the channel sphere will be those that stop pushing and start pulling, and those that embrace their partners like they do their own staff; leveraging their strong points and improving their weaknesses. All in the name of adding value to customers and ultimately increasing business.

I can see vendors acting more like consultants to partners. Offering advice, helping to produce engaging content, tweaking their content, call to actions and design to maximise return and improving conversions.

Conclusion

Campaigns-in-a-box aren't dead, but I can't see them lasting much longer unless they adapt. Now there's a thought: account-based marketing in a box!

Vendors need to start listening more to partners and their goals, and aligning with them, not just throwing them content and saying 'use this'.

Vendors should act as consultants to partners, offering expert advice and resources to improve marketing processes and material which will be mutually beneficial.

Let's stop thinking a campaign-in-a-box will put a tick in the marketing box. It's unlikely to in 2020, so let's start adapting and adopting methodology to get us ahead of the curve.

Vendors, it's time to start repackaging that campaign box.

Andy Wool is marketing director at cybersecurity services provider Foursys