Recruiting and developing channel partnerships can be a difficult and time-consuming experience. Ensuring that your current channel partners maximize their revenue potential is extremely important. The integration of traditional outbound tactics along with an effective inbound marketing campaign will ensure you are getting the most out of your channel.

Blogging

Developing consistent content that can be distributed to all of your channel partners to post on their blogs will help to drive website traffic and increase market share in your given industry. The distribution of this content throughout the channel not only provides them with quality thought leadership, it also ensures you will have a consistent message throughout your channel. This consistency will help to develop your brand and outline what sets your product apart from the competition. It also takes the pressure off your channel to develop this content. B2B companies that blogged 11+ times per month had almost 3X more traffic than those blogging 0 - 1 times per month.  Be sure to include diverse content that includes infographics and videos.

PDF Downloads

Developing and distributing premium content offers throughout your channel will provide them with the necessary firepower to increase sales. As the solution vendor, your expertise cannot be underestimated. You will want to develop content that will speak to prospects at each stage of the sales funnel. This content should be educational and not self-promoting. Providing your channel with the tools to educate and persuade potential customers will have a heavy impact on their ability to sell, and in turn, the bottom line.

Email Workflows

Developing several email workflows that can be used by each of your partners will help your channel nurture their prospects. Since each partner will have their own target companies based on size and geographical location, providing these templates to them will create brand consistency and ensure consistent messaging. You’ll want to create emails that link to content offers for customers at each stage of the funnel. Depending on what offers are being clicked on, you will be able to determine who is sales ready, and who needs further lead nurturing. This creates a sales pipeline that could bring in revenue for years to come.

Landing Pages

You will want to create a standard landing page template that each of your partners can use on their individual websites. This will allow them to gather information on potential customers through the use of premium content offers and forms. This will help to develop quality, segmented lists for email workflows and teleprospecting that is based on the type of content they download. Teleprospecting efforts can be used to immediately qualify and scheduled appointments for prospects that appear to be towards the bottom of the funnel, whereas email workflows can be used to nurture those that are just identifying pain points and potential solutions.

Social Media

From content distribution to connecting with your prospects, social media now plays a prominent role throughout the sales process. Many prospects prefer to connect through social channels as it offers real-time communication and the ability to easily share information. With social groups and paid advertising available you are able to reach a highly targeted audience. Researching potential partners, advertising new products and distributing how-to videos for your product lines are all major functions of social media that should be utilized by channel partners.

Sharing Information

Monitoring the success and failure of your inbound campaigns is paramount in maximizing profitability. If a certain piece of content is garnering a large response for one of your partners, you should spread the word throughout your channel. Additionally, if complaints or bad reviews should arise, you should let your channel know. With a significant amount of data and geographical areas at your disposal for analytics, you will have a greater ability to hone in your inbound marketing campaign.

Founded in 1990, Winn Technology Group is a leading provider of global, multi-channel marketing solutions for the technology industry.   For both direct and channel sales, Winn supports demand creation, account-based marketing, channel management, digital marketing, social media, teleprospecting, lead nurturing, event marketing, database services, and inbound response management.