How channel firms market products and solutions and target customers is undergoing a transformation that requires immediate attention, and according to experts at last month’s Channel Forecast insight session it demands an agile response that balances human-first data-driven strategies with personalisation, differentiation, unity of voice and ongoing learning.
When it comes to marketing, too many channel companies find themselves in a catch-22 that leads to inaction, but without a modern day marketing strategy it’s a challenge to maximise the value they can deliver, and grow as a result. “The challenge every business faces is that they move from one priority to the next and marketing slips down the priority list,” stated Roan Pratt (pictured), Partner Sales Director, Onecom Partners. “It falls on our shoulders to inform partners about new ways of marketing, the tools we have and follow up on what worked, what didn’t and how we can do it better. Agile marketers who continuously learn will rise to the top.”
According to Candice Cunliffe (pictured left), Managing Director, F6 Agency, many partners understand the value of marketing but don’t fully leverage the resources at their disposal. “The old school mentality of using white label documents is great, but working collaboratively enables you to unlock more tailored, impactful marketing,” she said. “There are key insights and information on customers to leverage, along with a better understanding of how various channels like webinars, sales toolkits, marketing playbooks and a range of other resources can help resellers. Understanding where to target and inject energy is also vital, along with the right granular information that shows proven results.”
Maintaining the focus on building relationships over driving volume is key
The evolution of marketing has seen a wave of digital innovation that does not simply intervene with traditional approaches but threatens to remove the human element. A balanced and integrated use of technologies like AI must be based on the right priorities, noted Cunliffe.
“We’re exploring AI driven market segmentation and personalisation,” she said. “There are so many segments in the telecoms space it’s important to utilise these tools but in a way that
complements the human element and brand tone. Modern tools must retain the brand’s unique personality and it’s essential they are leveraged alongside traditional methods of speaking to customers. At the end of the day they are humans, not robots.”
Cunliffe believes that AI and tools like ChatGPT are going to transform market research and content creation. She is already seeing the speed and scale that customer insights can be gathered in real-time. “ChatGPT and AI can help with automating but in terms of content creation through AI tools we’re seeing a relentless lift and shift mentality in the market,” she said. “You have to maintain the client’s unique tone, voice and brand personality otherwise everyone will sound the same and there will be no differentiation. Authenticity is what differentiates companies.”
Differentiation begins with brand identity and clear messaging, while working closely with customers identifies what’s unique about their value proposition and helps them stand out, stated Cunliffe. “In terms of demand generation we’re seeing a lot of success with account-based marketing and doing strategic content campaigns that target decision makers through personalisation while aligning with partner goals,” she added. “Maintaining the focus on building relationships over driving volume is key.”
According to Pratt, it is more important than ever to achieve marketing success through technology that complements human-first strategies and promotes relevancy. “ChatGPT and AI can help accelerate learning and perhaps some of our GTM,” he said. “But marketing is about what’s relevant to your audience and the human element is crucial. We’re at a point where you can tell if something has been written by ChatGPT – then you lose interest because there is no personal touch. Embrace such tools but add the human side and understand what the customer requires.”
Agile marketers who continuously learn will rise to the top. It’s about ongoing education and understanding
The number of different ways to target audiences seems to be growing almost by the day, and a big challenge facing marketers is to ensure that personalisation remains a priority in all marketing plans. “The shift towards personalisation is a key trend and marketers are using customer data more than ever to deliver targeted experiences,” added Cunliffe. “We harness those insights to shape customer value propositions as well as customised content pieces. AI driven tools enable greater efficiency and precision when targeting.”
Ensuring that personalisation remains front and centre while being compatible with the rise of AI and the broadening range of customer touchpoints is vital, agreed Pratt. “We are seeing growth in digital channels and data-driven marketing across different routes to market, whether online, email, LinkedIn or Instagram for example,” he added. “There are many ways to reach a target audience and they require personalised approaches. You need to make sure you incorporate those differences into channel marketing.”
This also points to another issue surrounding marketing – the requirement for consistency, observed Cunliffe. “The importance of consistency in branding and communication cannot be overstated,” she said. “Marketing success requires clear and cohesive messaging across all touch points. There are multiple areas where customers will come to your business so you need to be consistent across everything to deliver clarity and authenticity in messaging. It’s also about aligning leadership and teams to understand where the value of marketing sits.”
That all the factors discussed in this article are interconnected becomes more obvious when we consider that the key to success lies ultimately in clarity and unified customer-centric messaging, translating complex concepts into relatable terms that resonate with the target audience. “It’s the value of specific outcomes rather than features which is key,” said Cunliffe. “But the main challenge we see with clients in this industry is the wide range of services and solutions, with companies not always fully understanding how they benefit end users. This understanding is crucial. F6 bridges this gap by articulating value and enabling partners to do so through education and tailored marketing support.”
Partnerships
The channel’s marketers must also respond to an accelerating technology environment and Pratt underscored the growing importance of partnerships in overcoming marketing challenges. “The landscape is evolving so fast it’s important to help partners and customers understand products and emerging technologies,” he added.
“From a channel perspective this means partner enablement. We have to educate partners on the end user benefits and different marketing methods and use simple customer-centric language that talks plainly about three golden nuggets that catch a broad range of pain points – then go into more detail while keeping it simple.”
Cunliffe also emphasised that a winning marketing team needs to be founded on cross-functional collaboration, agility, continual learning and a strong grasp of technology. “Staying up-to-date with how marketing is innovating and how storytelling is evolving is key,” she commented. “To enable this we make sure there is cross functional collaboration across companies and continuous learning from each other and the market, while leveraging new tools that help us strategise to meet market trends.”