AFV Blog
Sales and marketing best practices for the IT channel, and beyond.
First the Tooth Fairy, Now the Unicorn Marketer
Marketing is not for the faint of heart. It requires many different skills, and in most cases, the expertise to be effective. Let’s face it: we all wish we had a unicorn marketer who could do everything - from strategic planning to execution, to...
Inbound Leads: Assess and Improve your Marketing
We all know the importance of marketing, but it’s hard to justify the investment when there’s no clear return. The whole point of marketing in the first place is to generate leads and increase revenues. So, if you are going to invest the time and money in...
The Challenges of IT Marketing
So, you’ve signed up for a manufacturer program. You’re running things exactly to plan; following all of the guidelines given to you at onboarding. There’s just one problem - you aren’t seeing results. Leads? Hardly. ROI? Abysmal. What’s going on here? The...
The Proof is in the Case Study
Storytelling is a tradition that has been around for centuries and has become an important aspect of content marketing. Understanding the importance of telling your brand's story is vital to your overall marketing strategy. As a partner, it is important to...
The Top 7 Partner Requests for Channel Enablement
The IT channel is becoming more collaborative than ever before. Manufacturer channel programs are highly focused on adopting co-selling models with partners at all levels. But to make that successful, manufacturers really must listen to partner feedback on what makes...
How Best-in-Class Solution Providers are Using Marketing to Drive Sales
At A Fluent Vision, we work with a lot of partners to help them manage their marketing practices. In working with hundreds of solution providers, we have come to realize why some perform better than others. Especially when it comes to driving revenue...
Custom Content: A Closer Look at Partner Needs
Content is an important part of any marketing strategy. It provides value to customers and prospects throughout the various stages of their buyer’s journey. It educates them on partner solutions and how they fit their needs. In a world where people are not just used...
MDF Best Practices: 5 Steps to Maximizing Your Investment
MDF is a wonderful thing. After all, who doesn’t like essentially free money? But MDF is only beneficial if managed and utilized effectively. It’s often complicated to manage because rules are constantly changing, deadlines remain a mystery, and in many...
Here’s Why Partner Platform Adoption Rates Are So Low
Ahh, the self-serve portal. At first glance, it appears to be a great investment. Giving partners the campaigns and resources they need to execute integrated marketing campaigns seems like a great way to increase demand and grow your channel. And in theory, this is a...
Top 5 Challenges of Channel Marketing Support
Think about the current performance of your channel marketing program. Now, whether it’s good, bad, or average, envision what you want your channel performance to be. The only way to get there is by maximizing your partners’ performance, and you can only...