Last week we talked about how Corporate Network Services (CNS) realized that it could use its "corporate culture booklet" as a powerful sales and marketing tool (see "How an MSP Made 'Corporate Culture' More than Just a Buzz Term"). You probably have assets lurking on hard drives or your SharePoint portal that could be working just as hard.
Below are seven places you should be looking at to give your marketing a boost. Hopefully, they can shake a few ideas loose so you can find some unidentified marketing content and put it to work.
The Obvious Places
- Company blog. If you have a blog, especially one that has been active for some time, there are probably posts that cover the same topic from different angles. Combine those posts into one document for an e-book to promote through your newsletter.
- Case studies. Case studies are great, but the technology cited becomes dated pretty quickly. Another e-book idea is to gather a number of older case studies and summarize the business problem solved. On each page, include the quotes of customers singing your praises with a paragraph or two about the business issues and outcomes.
- Sales/marketing presentations. While many PowerPoint presentations should die a fast and sure death, why waste a great presentation by using it only once? Presentations that cover one specific subject are best suited for reuse. Reformat the presentation, adding text to graphics that need explanation, and you have a nice call to action for your Web site or newsletter.
Unexpected Places
- Proposals. Whether or not you win the project, a lot of effort goes into building proposals. A clear definition of the business problem and the recommended solution provides the foundation for a great proposal -- and a great marketing piece.
- Visio solution diagrams. Visio is a sorely underutilized tool in the marketing world. Your system designers probably use Visio diagrams to depict before-and-after workflow. While you may need to simplify, Visio diagrams can be a powerful tool to illustrate the time savings that a new business process can achieve. You could use the diagrams to create a booklet like "5 Ways to Transform your Business Processes."
- Screen shares. Does anyone on your team show clients or prospects how to use an application through screen sharing? Ask your consultant to capture that screen share so you can edit it down to a screencast to post to the Web site. You can either use the meeting recording service or Jing for great results.
- Internal systems. While most partners suffer from the challenge of internal systems that never seem to get implemented or upgraded, you may have a SharePoint portal or CRM system that works pretty well. Showing "real-life" systems through a demo, webinar or screenshots helps prospects believe the solution could really work for them. And you might even receive a side benefit of getting a few issues fixed before the demo.
The only rule for marketing content is that it should provide value to the reader -- your customer or prospect. In the case of CNS, its corporate culture book provides an inside view into the company, giving prospects confidence in the partnership. Every document, video or presentation your team produces likely has the potential to be used for marketing content. Get creative with what you've got.
Using something unexpected for marketing content? Please comment below or let me know so we can share the knowledge.
Posted by Barb Levisay on August 25, 20110 comments
Corporate culture isn't lip service at Corporate Network Services (CNS), a Poolesville, Md.-based MSP -- it's a way of life. Karen Kalantzis, CEO of CNS, says, "It all started because we wanted to apply for awards, like making the 'Best Places to Work' list. We felt it would help us build our legitimacy as a company as we were growing."
Then, last year, Karen attended a conference where Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh spoke about the benefits of corporate culture to the growth and performance of organizations. Borrowing an idea from the Zappos success story, CNS employees were asked to write down their thoughts about working for CNS. The result was the CNS 2011 Attitude Album, a 26-page booklet that describes CNS core values, community services, awards and lots of photographs of employees with their comments about the company.
The Attraction of 'Real' Personality
"Authentic" is an overused term these days, but the CNS Attitude Album deserves that label. The most expensive full-color glossy company brochure out there doesn't hold a candle to the value of this unpretentious booklet. This book makes you feel like you are part of a family, a family that cares about its customers.
The bulk of the content for the Attitude Album comes directly from CNS employees based on their thoughts on what CNS means to them. Here are a few examples:
"Thinking about my time at CNS, the people I have had a chance to work with, the clients I have had an opportunity to help and the knowledge and skills I have gained, I am struck by what an enriching experience it has been."
"Working here means working for a company that cares for its employees and its customers."
"The culture means that we are here to support the customer as well as each other by going above and beyond what is expected."
Unexpected Results from Corporate Culture Initiatives
Just as with Zappos, the focus on corporate culture has generated positive results both inside and outside CNS. "As part of an award program that we were judging, I met a woman from a staffing company who was impressed by our programs," Kalantzis remembers. "She was looking for a new technology partner and wanted to work with a firm that had more to offer than just technical expertise. I gave her one of our Attitude Albums and she loved it. Now her company is a client."
While the booklet was not intended to be used as marketing collateral, it has become a valuable asset. "We use it for new sales and new hires. Our whole attitude program is helping with new hires," Kalantzis said. "One of our newest employees told me that our awards program was one of the reasons he decided to accept our job offer from among three companies. He said it looked like we really care about and invest in our employees."
Hidden Assets That Can Build Relationships
Next week we'll talk about how to find and build on the hidden assets in your organization to help you connect with customers. Post a comment below or let me know if you have a story about a unique marketing approach so we can share the knowledge.
Posted by Barb Levisay on August 18, 20111 comments
When the topic of social media comes up, the thought of having to blog, Tweet and keep multiple social sites up to date is overwhelming. But it's possible to start with small steps that can have a big impact over time. As we've discussed before, focus on one activity and do that consistently for the best payoffs for your time invested. Take the following examples.
Finding a Community with Twitter
Tiffany Ingargiola, director of Partner Alliances for New Horizons Computer Learning Centers in New Orleans, got started with Twitter as part of the 2009 New Orleans Worldwide Partner Conference planning committee. Ingargiola remembers, "That was the year that businesses started to understand that social media could impact the way we communicate."
Ingargiola said, "Even then, I didn't believe it until after WPC was over and I started to tap into the New Orleans market. All of a sudden I found there were New Orleans people talking to each other. They were influencers -- people that we were doing business with. They would push out my messaging, so I saw that what I was doing had a viral effect. That's when I became a believer."
"I'm a strong believer that businesses that have a real person representing them on the front end are the ones that will be successful with social media. It's about relationships," Ingargiola said. It's also about what you are good at -- so you can stick with it. I am better at 140 characters and couldn't be a blogger."
Commitment to Fresh Blog Content
If blogging is your social outlet of choice, consistent fresh content is the key to results. It's a challenging commitment, but if managed and rewarded well, a blog can give you a significant boost in organic search results and Web traffic.
Erin Eschen, online and social media marketing manager for Perficient, a National System Integrator partner headquartered in Missouri, said, "Blogs are the hub of our social media program. Our goal is to demonstrate thought leadership through our consultants' expertise. Most of our bloggers write their posts because they love it."
To keep bloggers motivated, Perficient also offers cash incentive programs based on milestones, like the most traffic to a post. Eschen said, "My bloggers are people who don't report to me so I give them constant feedback to recognize their success. We share the numbers of post visitors with the writers and they compete in a friendly way to write posts that will attract readers. It's important to share those numbers."
Find a Social Champion To Lead the Way
Common to all partners gaining momentum with social media is the value of those employees who want to champion and own social media. Since consistency is the foundation of relationships built through social communities, a committed employee can be your ticket to success. Find that person in your organization and support their efforts.
How are you approaching social media? Comment below or send me a note so we can share the knowledge.
Posted by Barb Levisay on August 09, 20110 comments
As with any business activity, strategy comes first and execution second. Social media, including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and blogs, are tools in your marketing toolbox that can be used to build connections with your audience. If you are going to invest time in social media, those connections need to support your strategic goals and build your business.
The primary strategies that Microsoft partners cite for their social media efforts fall into three categories:
- Increase traffic to Web site.
- Build brand awareness and reputation.
- Develop relationships with potential partners.
An additional level of definition that is critical to success is defining the community that you are going to address. Strong communities with a common interest where you can add value through your expertise will deliver far better results for your time invested.
Partner Success Through Strategic Focus
Liza Sisler is the National Sales and Marketing Director, Microsoft, for Perficient, a national system integrator partner headquartered in Missouri. She spoke at this year's Worldwide Partner Conference about her success with social media in the health care and SharePoint communities. In a follow-up interview, Liza said, "The health care industry has an engaged social community. By interacting with that community, I was able to lend my personal brand to the organization to grow the followers. Social media elevates the brand, putting people and the company together."
Industry-specific blogs written by their consultants provide a strong content foundation for Perficient's marketing and industry teams to offer through multiple social media channels. Erin Eschen, Perficient's online and social media marketing manager, said, "We focus on industries that are growth areas with lots of buzz. Then we make sure that we have the team members within our company who can commit to keep the content fresh."
"Perficient uses social media to demonstrate thought leadership in the industries we serve. We see a tremendous lift in Web site traffic as a result of increase in brand recognition and the content value that we deliver."
Building the Strategy for Your business
Most partners don't have the resources of Perficient, but the lessons are the same. Find the community where you can add value and then decide how you can best engage. Interest groups on LinkedIn are a great place to find engaged communities and learn about common interests and challenges. Think about what content that you can consistently create that could benefit that audience.
What is your social media strategy? Send me a note or comment below and let's share the knowledge.
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Posted by Barb Levisay on August 03, 20111 comments
Ask a partner marketing professional why he isn't doing social media marketing and you'll likely get two answers:
- "Where will I get regular, meaningful content?"
- "How will I find the time to manage Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and the blog in addition to my 'day' job?"
But a small, but growing number of partners seem to have found the solution to both issues through a new Microsoft-sponsored program called Nurture Butterfly.
Marcia Nita Doron, director of marketing with Massachusetts-based Altico Advisors, was struggling to figure out how to create content and manage social media when Altico was invited to join a Microsoft-sponsored test program last year. The Nurture Butterfly program gives partners a tool to source and deliver Microsoft-generated, self-created and public content in one place.
"It's an incredible timesaver," Doron said. "I can go out to Butterfly and select content supplied through the service, or I can create my own. It's easy to select and send out."
Peter Joeckel, owner of Dallas-based TurnOn! Dynamics, said, "Being able to manage all your social media for all of the outlets and sources in one place is magnificent. It's a great way to build credibility through content to support your business." As to the process, Joeckel said, "In the morning I go through the sources and if I find an article that is interesting enough, I post it for distribution. The feedback from my followers has been that the information I am sending out is valuable. It's important to be selective."
Integrated Social Media Strategy
One of the primary benefits that Doron sees from the program is that it supports an "integrated strategy." She continued, "I can create content for our blog, then Tweet it and then put it on PRWeb. The different channels play off of each other to build the value and reach of the content."
For Julie Fuller, marketing manager at Pennsylvania-based Dynamics partner Cargas, the Nurture Butterfly program helped her company establish a social media presence. "Without a consistent source of valuable content, we were nervous about adding social media marketing." Fuller said, "Now that we have reliable content and can interconnect the systems with an incredibly simple tool -- it's beyond easy."
The ROI of Social Media
With a monthly investment of $125, the first question from management will be, "What is the ROI?" Joeckel responded, "Every single opportunity that I am in is a result of networking -- from golf, social, LinkedIn, to 'Saw that on your Web site.' Can I quantify the returns of Nurture Butterfly? Probably not. Do I think it's important? I do."
Doron said, "Efforts are paying off -- registration for events have come from social media. Web site traffic is coming from social media sites. It's a process, not an overnight event. We are learning which hashtags to use and monitoring Web site traffic through Google Analytics. Our job postings have gotten hits from places that I hadn't seen before."
As for Cargas, Fuller said, "We've definitely seen interaction on Facebook pages and direct responses from existing customers. We're maintaining the regular contact to keep us top of mind with customers."
Currently, the Nurture Butterfly program is offered to Dynamics CRM and ERP partners, with Microsoft-generated general-interest and product-specific content. The tool also allows users to build their own library of sources to add content diversity. For more information on the Nurture Butterfly program visit Socialize your Stuff.
How are you using social media to build your business? Tell me about it here or leave a comment below, and let's share the knowledge.
Posted by Barb Levisay on July 27, 20111 comments
Videos have always been a core feature of the Worldwide Partner Conference keynotes. Hollywood-style videos tell inspiring stories about partner achievements around the world. This year's WPC was no exception, with videos that pulled at heartstrings from Japan to Haiti to the Imagine Cup Finals. But this year, there was a new dimension as well: Mainstream, user-generated video was everywhere. Here are a couple of examples.
Augmenting Twitter with Video
Dux Raymond Sy, SharePoint MVP and social media guru, interviewed partners and Microsoft team members throughout WPC, expanding his stock of videos on YouTube channel. Dux uses videos to add interest and depth to his regular Tweets, building an impressive community of devoted followers.
An important lesson in the videos that Dux produces is his focus on others and not himself or his business. He engages and builds goodwill because he is generous with the spotlight and brings entertaining and informative content to his followers.
Customer Testimonials from Around the World
At the Microsoft Partner Network booth, Varvid and Mimecast streamed interview-style webcasts three times a day. The popular webcasts were getting 2,000-plus daily views, perhaps providing a glimpse into the "real" WPC experience more than the streamed keynotes.
As their name suggests, Varvid specializes in video for VARs, and partners were eager to talk about the value of the service that they provide. CoreConnex, developer of Corelytics financial dashboard, works with Varvid to create video testimonials from customers around the world.
"CoreConnex has customers in 11 countries around the world who are anxious to provide testimonials about our solution. We simply ship our customer the Flip video camera package that Varvid gave us and we interview them via Skype. We upload the video to the Varvid site and they brand it with our logo," says Tony Lael, executive vice president of CoreConnex. "It's slick and it's affordable. They are just great to work with and it gets us fresh video content each month."
Lael says the videos have produced real leads and sales for CoreConnex. With the help of Varvid, CoreConnex set up a system using landing pages and search analytics to measure traffic and referrals from the YouTube channel. Lael added, "Since YouTube is the No. 2 search engine in the world, the video content gives us access to a huge audience."
Dive into Video
Video has become easy to create and to connect to your Web site. Keep these three guidelines in mind and test it out.
- Keep it short. Three minutes is a long time on video.
- Focus on your audience. What do your prospects care about?
- Be yourself. Help your audience connect with you on a personal level.
Video is fun and can deliver real returns. How are you using video? Please tell me about it so we can share the knowledge.
Posted by Barb Levisay on July 20, 20110 comments
Video has become a powerful marketing tool, but most Microsoft partners have been hesitant about jumping in. Creating and displaying video on your Web site is getting easier all the time -- easy enough to do yourself. So why not get in the game? Let's look at a few ways to get started, with some tips to give your videos a professional look.
Get Started with 'Screencasts'
The easiest way for most partners to get started with video content is with a screencast. Basically, a screencast is a demonstration of your solution recorded with audio and video. Just like you would demonstrate in real time for a client, you can record your screen and your voice as you talk through the demonstration.
One of the easiest tools you can use to get started with screencasting is Camtasia by Techsmith. Camtasia lets you record your screen and voice, then easily edit the footage. A great feature of Camtasia is that you can use footage recorded through Jing, a free download also from Techsmith. Your technical or functional consultant can record their demo with Jing and give you the file to edit.
Camtasia is inexpensive, easy to use and provides lots of options for editing. You can cut excess footage, zoom in for detail and add callouts to highlight key points. Insert title clips to introduce your subject and to close with a call to action.
Two important tips for better screencasts:
- Keep them short (three minutes max). Better to break up your subject into small bites than make it longer.
- Record your audio with a decent microphone. It doesn't have to be an expensive mic, but the better the audio, the more professional your video will appear.
Interviews Tell Your Story
Interviews with your employees or customers help prospects "get to know" your company in a way that text cannot. While good audio is important with screencasts, it's critical for interviews. Either hire a professional to record you and your customers or get help from someone who knows what he or she is doing.
A great, cost-effective method is to hire a professional for a couple of hours when you hold your next seminar or customer event. Record a number of interviews with your employees and your customers that you can use over time. Tip: Ask them to say the name of your company at the beginning of their response to your questions. ("I like working with XYZ Partner because...")
There are a number of tools you can use to edit and publish your interview videos, including Camtasia, Microsoft Expression Studio or Adobe's Premiere Pro. Cost and degree of difficulty vary widely. There is also a growing industry meeting the need for professional videos -- at very reasonable costs. Be sure to get references and see samples.
Get Creative
There is so much that you can do with video. Our industry is just starting to find creative ways to engage our audience. Next week, we'll talk about more video options, like PowerPoint presentations, with some ideas that you can put to work.
Have a great video story? Tell me about it and let's share the knowledge.
Posted by Barb Levisay on July 06, 20111 comments
When it comes to marketing, we all have the habit of thinking about client involvement only in terms of case studies. While case studies are great, there is so much more that you can do collaboratively with your clients that can serve both of your interests.
A local HVAC company in my community recently started a very effective advertising campaign by making other businesses the stars of the show. Owners of these local small businesses are filmed at their own location talking about the value of the HVAC company's services. The community businesses get some free advertising and the HVAC company builds credibility and goodwill in supporting the local economy. Everyone wins.
Make Customers the Star
If your market focus includes regional small businesses, testimonials from local businesses are powerful and can be used through a number of marketing vehicles, like:
- a series of ads in the regional business paper,
- your Web site and in your monthly newsletter, and
- print ads in multiple publications (a consistent layout or design will build brand recognition).
Another place where you can star your customer is at a regional business or industry trade show. Your customers often attend the same shows where you exhibit and may be happy to spend a few hours in the booth. For larger trade shows, a session abstract proposal that includes a customer presentation will be far more compelling to the selection committee.
Seminars and Webinars with a Customer Focus
Presentations are much more meaningful when the real value of your service can be described by an outside observer. There are multiple ways that you can include your customers in seminar and webinar marketing activities.
- Combine forces with one or more of your client companies that serve the same market to provide additional content and value for prospects. Each company can send out announcements to their own mailing list, increasing your reach while protecting your lists.
- Invite one of your customers to talk about how the technology helped their business on your next webinar. Their comments can break up the presentation and add real-life experience to your message.
- You may even meet a prospect through your networking activities who would be a good candidate to speak at an event. What better way to build a relationship than to feature that person in your next seminar? People are flattered to be asked to share their knowledge.
Content from Your Customers
Take a look at your customer list from a different perspective. Some of your customers (including consumer-focused businesses) surely serve the same businesses that you do -- either regionally or vertically. Ask them to contribute a quarterly article to your newsletter or blog. You get additional content that could be of interest to your prospects and they get access to a new audience.
Adding a request for content to your monthly newsletter may bring a response from an unexpected source. If you don't ask, you may be missing a great partnering opportunity.
Have you found a unique way to include your customers in marketing? Please drop me a note and let's share the knowledge.
Posted by Barb Levisay on June 30, 20110 comments
Last time, we talked about helping the marketing and sales teams get on the same page. But how about your professional services team? On the front lines with clients and prospects every day, your services team should also be in lockstep with the marketing team.
You can help your service delivery team add value to customers and the company using several simple pointers.
1. Billable resources don't have time for marketing. Each member of your professional services team is likely evaluated on his or her realized billable value. (Compensation for sales and marketing activities is a whole other topic that we will save for a different time.) But you can help your professional services team contribute more to the top line by giving them additional tools to:
- upsell and cross-sell existing customers,
- develop marketing content and
- build referral business.
2. Upsell and cross-sell tools. Keeping up with Microsoft's new product offerings and promotions is a daunting task for both customers and services professionals. Help the service team sort through the clutter with:
- a monthly newsletter highlighting license promotions sent to customers and internal teams,
- monitoring and filtering the Microsoft sales and marketing webcast invitations to forward only those that apply to each professional's area of interest, and
- regular conference calls or in-person meetings where the professional services team can share success stories.
3. Content creation is key. Your professional services team is creating content through proposals and presentations every day. The marketing team can find a wealth of material for blog posts and newsletter articles when those documents are shared. Include your marketing team on the service team calls to help them understand the value of the services that you deliver.
4. Empower your consultants to wow. In a previous post, we talked about how extraordinary service is what motivates customers to refer business your way. Give your professional services team the authority to go above and beyond for your customers. Acknowledge and reward team members who add customers through referrals.
5. Here's a controversial concept: Feature your professionals on your Web site. Your Web site and marketing content should be a true representation of who you are as a company. As more and more prospects choose vendors through online connections, you want to build confidence quickly. What better way to convey to prospects the expertise you will bring to them than to introduce them to the professionals that will implement their Microsoft solution?
Partners that are uneasy in advertising their consulting team -- for fear that headhunters will hire them away, for example -- might consider another perspective. What higher form of flattery is there for your employees than to be introduced on the Web site as the company's jewels? Partners trying to attract talent may soon be at a disadvantage if they don't feature their professionals on their Web site.
Do you include your professional services team in the marketing process? Send me a note and let's share the knowledge.
Posted by Barb Levisay on June 22, 20110 comments
Sales says, "If the marketing team would just give us better leads, we could close them."
Marketing says, "If the sales people would call a lead more than one time, they could turn inquiries into opportunities."
Sound familiar? How can you help sales and marketing teams work together for better results?
Develop Objectives and Goals Together
The first step to building a positive relationship between the sales and marketing teams (even if those "teams" only include one person) is to set realistic expectations on both sides of the fence. What is the primary objective of marketing efforts: lead generation, brand awareness or a combination of both? What are the sales goals and, specifically, how many deals does the sales team need to close to meet those goals?
The sales and marketing plan should tie activities together with expected lead-generation results. Make reasonable estimates for all sources of leads, from networking to marketing campaigns. A quick review of recent sales prospects, proposals and closes will help you estimate the number of leads that you need to meet the goals. On the marketing side, review what activities have generated the leads that ended in closed deals.
These suggestions may sound incredibly obvious, but it is amazing how rarely the sales and marketing teams sit down and rationally discuss past results to plan for a better future.
Collaborate on Marketing Campaigns To Build Effects
Your leads are probably coming from a variety of sources that sales and marketing are independently working. With collaboration, sales and marketing can amplify the results of those individual efforts. A few examples:
- E-mail newsletter: Marketing sends out a monthly e-mail newsletter with a webinar as the call to action. The sales team can use the webinar as a reason to call all of their recent prospects and contacts.
- Networking: A salesperson who attends a monthly networking group asks marketing to put together an educational webinar on a subject of interest to the group. Through social media such as LinkedIn, the salesperson can promote the webinar to provide value to his network group and build relationships.
- Tradeshow: After the tradeshow, the sales and marketing teams select the top 10 (or 50) contacts made at the show. Together, the team develops a nurture campaign, which could include a high-value mailer, telemarketing and webinar to continue to build those relationships.
- Cold calls: The sales team defines a list of 50 target accounts, then collects and verifies contact information within those accounts. Marketing creates an e-mail campaign and Web site landing page with messaging and an offer specifically directed to those accounts. Follow-up calls by the sales team reinforce the messaging and provide a call to action on voicemails.
Use CRM internally
If your sales and marketing teams are not sharing information now, it's time to fix that. Whether you can qualify for Microsoft Dynamics CRM seats through your partner program or not, it's worth the investment. Not only will it help your sales and marketing teams collaborate, it might give you a new line of business to offer customers.
How are you fostering sales and marketing team harmony? Send me a note and let's share the knowledge.
Posted by Barb Levisay on June 14, 20110 comments