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 through lead generation.
Here are some of the traits that we consistently see from a best-in-class marketing team:
- Marketing & Sales Alignment
If you are looking to drive revenue, then open communication between your sales and marketing teams is imperative. Be sure to set shared goals and review them regularly.How much bandwidth does sales have to follow up on leads? This directly impacts how MQLs and SQLs should be classified.Establish follow up procedures and put together a lead progression plan so that everyone understands their individual and shared responsibilities. It’s highly recommended that at least one person from marketing attend sales meetings on a regular basis. A lack of alignment can lead to lost revenue. - Highly Targeted
Having a strong understanding of your target market will significantly increase marketing’s effectiveness. First, understand your customers, their pain points and their needs. Have you taken the time to develop buyer personas?Create segmented lists and align specific, targeted messaging when communicating to each. By providing valuable insights or tools and resources that are relevant, you form a deeper connection with your audience. - Customer-First
Market for your customers, not to your customers. Many partners market for the sole purpose of generating leads. Although effective, you are mostly only appealing to those who are in a very specific phase of the buyer’s journey. This type of marketing requires the right messaging at the right time.Ask yourself how you can provide value to your customers for free. What resources will make their jobs or even lives easier? If your customers value the content you provide, they will advocate for you. Leads will inherently follow. - Data Driven
Knowledge is power. Measure and analyze all of your marketing efforts. Use this insight to develop a deeper understanding of how your customers engage at various stages of the sales funnel.Be sure to look at the data holistically, not the performance of individual tactics. Although it is nice to validate a specific campaign, there are far too many variables that can affect the success of individual marketing initiatives. Look for trends in your data and capitalize on them, but understand there is a difference between correlation and causality. - Maximization of Resources
The amount of marketing resources provided by manufacturers and distributors is close to endless. Marketing platforms, content, leads and even funding is offered as an incentive for participation in various programs. It is even made available to solution providers who express loyalty to a specific manufacturer or distributor.However, funding is rarely utilized in full and manufacturers and distributors struggle to get solution providers to allocate their funds on a quarterly basis. Do not leave money on the table. Understand what resources are available to you and make full use of them. Having a close relationship with channel program managers is a great way to get access to ad-hoc or overflow funds. - Innovative & Integrated
Marketing is not effective as a one-and-done campaign. Consistent, on-going marketing across multiple channels is required to see long-term success. Connect with customers on multiple platforms to strengthen your relationships.Don’t be afraid to experiment with new tactics, you never know where your messaging may resonate with a new audience. Allocate a portion of your budget for ‘experimental’ marketing. This will prevent any downside from a failed campaign while opening opportunities to penetrate new markets or create additional ways to connect with your customers.How does your marketing organization compare to the traits of a best in class solution provider? Identify the gaps in your strategy and identify the resources or initiatives it will take to start driving revenue.
Start by documenting your strategy.
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