I can appreciate creative marketing as much, if not more, than most.  And, especially in technology markets where there is typically a dearth of creative marketing.  But, a recent technique used by one of the group coupon sites really had me thinking – can solution providers really ever get the hang of what it takes to market in the web 2.0 era.
So, I get a flyer in my 5 year old’s backpack, and there are seemingly hundreds of them every day.   Join this club, volunteer in this group, send money to this organization, etc.  This one was unique in that it was a beautifully formatted, four-color piece with a very specific call to action.  “Sign up for Free, and Earn Money for Your Child’s Classroom!”   I thought, OK, I’ll bite and not throw this directly in the trash.

The flyer was from a local group coupon site, which will remain nameless to protect the innocent.   They were promising money to each child’s individual classroom if you gave them your email address.   All you had to do was write a couple of email addresses down, and they would buy glue sticks and paper for your kids classroom.  And, for the classroom that gave the most names to the service there was yet another big prize – a pizza day!  Now, for Kindergarteners, the promise of readily available glue sticks and pizza is about as good as it gets!

So, I thought, what the heck, I applaud innovative list acquisition techniques.  And, then, I started to think about it.  This web company had to do a lot of stuff just for the promise of some new names.  They had to dream up the contest, plan the potential budget impact of their promotional promises, format the flyer and copy gazillions of them (seems they did this at a number of local elementary schools).  Then, they had to petition the school to be allowed to offer the incentive and distribute them, which I’m sure for our school was the really hard part.  This seems to me like solicitation WAY beyond selling Girl Scout cookies in front of supermarkets.

The crowning piece of this campaign is that when I gave them my email address (and my husband’s)  I got a thank you email within 24 hours, with a customized view of their coupon content, geared toward parents of younger children.  You could open up access to all their offers, but it started me at a personalized page.  Now, I’m really impressed.  I could care less what the content of the coupons is at this point --  I’m more impressed with the stick-to-itiveness of the campaign and how tightly it was executed.

When I piece it all together, there are tons of these local sites that are marketing to me – Groupon, Spreebird, LivingSocialEscapes,  GoSanDiegoDeals, etc.  But, the effort and creativity this company took to get my name and market to me in a personalized way was really impressive.  Either that, or highly invasive.  I’m still deciding.  Preying on kindergarteners to get their parents’ email addresses??  Hmmm…..

In our newest research, the 2012 State of Partnering study, both solution providers and vendors indicated 2012 was going to be a year of renewed focus on marketing funds and lead generation programs.  Both see this co-dependent marketing as critical to growth and profitability.   But, how many solution providers in the <$20m range actually have a dedicated marketing person and a full marketing plan?  How many are really using LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, or even have a search-engine-optimization strategy and keyword search plan in place?  The general sentiment on that question from vendors we work with is “far too few”.  Now, could IBM or HP or Cisco have helped their partners pull off something like the group coupon campaign I mentioned above?  Maybe.  But, of course, solution providers aren’t going out into the public at large to get names of unqualified parents. They are, however, trying to look for new pain points and projects in existing customers. They do need to figure out how to market in and make their skills and services more relevant to key decision makers in their accounts.

The bottom line?  There’s a huge divide between the use of social media and web-based marketing for consumer-oriented products and services and the tactics being used by today’s average IT solution provider to market themselves and grow revenue.  Huge.  There’s a lot to be learned by studying marketing tactics and branding strategies from more mature consumer packaged products and even consumer telco services as we think ahead to next-generation IT services.   But, that’s advice the vendor community is going to have to package and “train” partners on, ala the Cisco Velocity Marketing event or some of the other Smarter Planet community marketing campaigns.

Who knows?  Maybe by the time solution providers are using all the cool web based marketing vehicles to find new customers kindergarteners themselves will have their own smart devices and social network and be feeding our names up for more lucrative incentives.  Barter for less homework or more screen time?

by Beth Vanni, Vice President of PartnerPath for more information please contact her at bvanni@partner-path.com

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by Sallie Martin, Consultant PartnerPath

In this year's 2012 State of Partnering Study, both vendors and solution providers were bullish on growth for the channel. Over the past 2-3 years, the vendor community has really focused their drive for enablement on technical skills, sales prospecting skills and service delivery skills. They've been prepping the partner community to come out of their economic storm with specialized skills and proactive marketing. The incentives for driving market penetration and growth such as deal registrations and rich growth rebates are now the standard in many partner programs.

So, is this year going to be the year for more deal registrations from vendors? Solution providers currently have a plethora of program incentives to choose from to help them with increasing selling activity.  There is everything from MDF and SPIF programs to traditional Co-Op.  So why should a vendor add yet another in the form of deal registration?  To begin with, is deal registration considered an incentive?
To answer the question, you first need to know what value deal registration brings to a vendor.  It is a reward to the partner that:

· Gives vendor visibility into a partner’s pipeline
· Helps to minimize channel conflict between the vendor direct and   indirect teams
· Similarly, reduces conflict from partner to partner
· Some programs pay for efforts of partners to close net new business
· If managed properly, can build trust between vendor and partner

The key word above is "reward."  There are many key factors to make deal registration effective.  However, in the partner’s eyes, they have to receive a benefit for allowing a vendor to see behind the curtain of their pipeline.  The only way a vendor can do this effectively is to give the partner a reward.  Each vendor will have a different philosophy on the behavior that they want to encourage. This incentive normally comes in two forms. The first is up front discounts that a rep can apply to the deal to compete effectively.  The second form is back-end rebates.  This incentive is paid after the deal closes and normally is applied to the partner’s bottom line (as opposed to a SPIF for the sales rep).

In the long term, deal registration is a win-win situation for both the vendor and the partner.  The vendor receives the benefits mentioned above and the partner is rewarded for their efforts. PartnerPath's 2012 State of Partnering Study highlights program such as deal registration and other growth incentives aimed at increasing selling activity, as becoming common practice. Partners now expect deal registration, which has contributed to the increasing investment trend.   Forward movement like this can only help to drive successful partner-vendor relationships.

Please contact Beth Vanni, Vice President of PartnerPath for more info at bvanni@partner-path.com

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Tech Data Launches One-Stop Cloud Shop

Imagine a new ecosystem, a single place to aggregate all ISV and cloud providers into a single B-to-B app store. A marketplace integrated into one platform to do all the marketing, sales, distribution, provisioning, billing and management of a wide variety of cloud software in the channel. An easy way to accelerate the adoption of cloud services – and put the traditional reseller right in the middle of it.

This ecosystem would allow the reseller to move away from being an agent or referral player and actually integrate their selling and customer management processes with the back-end transaction processes, thus giving the reseller an opportunity to truly control the entire end-to-end process. Today, this vision has become a reality for Tech Data’s 60,000 reseller customers with the launch of its new web-based StreamOne™ Solutions Store.

The StreamOne Solution Store solves the longstanding inefficiencies of software sales marketing, provisioning, billing and delivery for the channel. It’s an end-to-end supply chain platform that simplifies and automates how the channel markets and distributes Electronic Software Downloads (ESD) and cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS). The StreamOne Solutions Store is made available as a rebranded white-labeled offering, enabling VARs to establish a customized solutions store on their own website. That functionality will launch later this year.

A definite notch in Tech Data’s belt, StreamOne aligns with the findings of the Global Technology Distribution Council’s (GTDC) 2011 study, “Redefining Distributor Value in a Solution-based Channel.” Tim Curran, GTDC’s CEO, stated a couple months back, “Many cloud providers are approaching distributors with the classic problem of needing to expand their customer base and build out a channel. They can’t do it on their own. Distribution is helping them expand market reach and increase sales. Some distributors are already active in the cloud delivering shipping and provisioning solutions today, and they are prepared for a more advanced role as the cloud market continues to evolve.”

The StreamOne platform was initially developed in 2009 to strengthen Tech Data’s software business and provide more efficient software license management services to its customers.  Last February, Tech Data launched Software Licensing Selector as the first initiative of StreamOne to improve accuracy, speed and the level of service in the software licensing supply chain.

This licensing tool streamlines the mechanics of complex software licensing, as many of Tech Data’s competitors have done with similar tools. But, in less than a year, Tech Data posted some impressive stats with the tool, growing software purchases by 40%, and more than doubling the number of touchless orders from 30 to 70%.

Once approved to participate in the StreamOne Solution Store, software vendors and ISVs pay a $1,000 annual fee and have the ability to mine their product data and marketing materials into the system and then use the marketplace and Tech Data’s marketing agency to gain market presence through paid advertising and demand generation campaigns and programs.

For the VAR, the StreamOne Solution Store offers monthly recurring revenue, the ability to set price, a white-labeled solution opportunity, a simple dashboard to monitor usage by customer, bill-on-behalf, returns management, product promos and collateral, customer reviews, and what I believe to be a hot feature… application trials and the management of trial to purchase conversions.

Having worked in distribution for 11 years and followed the distribution channel for 15 more, I’ve watched the leading distributors evolve their systems and infrastructure over the years. I think Tech Data and the other leading global distributors have a huge opportunity to be the hub in cloud channel development. The big question will be whether the vendor community will be willing to allow them to monetize their role as the marketplace engine of the channel for traditional resellers. The fact that Tech Data announced McAfee as one of their 30 initial cloud services is a good early indication of the vendor community’s support. The company’s goal is to have 200-500 ISVs in the StreamOne Solution Store over the next 12-18 months.

You can check out the StreamOne Solutions Store at www.techdata.com/streamone.  And, to think more broadly about the future role of commercial distribution in a services and cloud-based world, check out PartnerPath’s most recent custom research with the GTDC at http://goo.gl/DdNM1.

Please contact Beth Vanni, Vice President of PartnerPath for any questions - bvanni@partner-path.com

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“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Juliet, Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

Boy, I certainly hope William Shakespeare was right! After 14 years we changed our name from Amazon Consulting to PartnerPath. “Why, oh Why?” you might cry!  After working extremely diligently to build a brand that (we hope) stands for amazing channel and alliance development, why would we change it? The official answer is we believe the new name better represents the value we bring to our clients – developing a path to cultivate successful partnerships. The un-official answer is now that Jeff Bezos’ company has expanded well beyond the confines of a struggling on-line bookseller – we were getting way too distracted with questions about how we fit into the EC2 model.

Network Associates did it. In the summer of 2004, Network Associates officially changed their name to that of their flagship product – McAfee.  Four years later, Network Appliance did it (kind of) in changing their name to NetApp. I’m sure there are many other examples from companies not trying to rid themselves of the ‘network’ word – like Accenture, CA and Oracle.

We still design, implement and automate channel and alliance models – and we now have a new name that aligns with our partner centric focus. We’re starting a new year with a new name, in a new location, with a few new people and some new partnering models and trends. Don’t worry – we still have the same old ability to elevate the impact of your partnerships.

So, what do you think about shifting a brand after 14 years? Crazy or necessary?

by Diane Krakora, if you have any questions  contact her at dkrakora@partner-path.com

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 In our previous blog post, we introduced Quest Software and its business partner needs. Unifying the channel program for Quest and its partner community became a vital corporate priority. Quest engaged Amazon Consulting to help build collaboration with industry partners, increase opportunities for partners to grow sales and profitability and deliver greater customer satisfaction.

Quest was able to organize the company’s 150+ product offerings into seven core solution specializations. Amazon consultants also advised Quest on how to structure a three-tiered program of vendor/partner relationships. We formulated clear rules of partner engagement and a predictable investment model for pricing, discounts, services and opportunity management.

We helped Quest develop technical training and certification guidelines that would validate and distinguish the competencies and expertise required to sell and deliver Quest products, solutions and services. These steps were designed to enable certified partners to increase their profitability and gain a unique competitive advantage. Amazon consultants prepared a roadmap for the introduction and announcement of the new ‘Quest Partner Circle’ program at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference.

‘Quest Partner Circle’ is a single, global framework that provides a common set of requirements, benefits and consistent rules of engagement for partners. We think the program’s transparent and predictable engagement model helps to create new opportunities for revenue generation by empowering Quest Circle Partners to sell the full breadth Quest’s solution offerings.

Quest Software is now seeing heightened levels of collaboration with partners as a result of the new marketing tools and programs, discounts, incentives and robust sales and technical training. ‘Quest Partner Circle,’ still early in its evolution, has been well received by Quest partners and industry analysts alike, who see the program as confirmation of the company’s commitment to building a strong foundation for engaging, educating and recruiting partners of all types and sizes.

Please contact Diane Krakora for any questions at dkrakora@partner-path.com

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