How-To Guide

© 2014 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Channel Marketing Automation: Empowering Your Channel Partners for Profitability and Purpose

By Clare Price, VP of Research

February 2014

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Companies that sell their products and services through resellers, dealers,

distributors and other channel partnerships know that the lifeblood of

their sales and profits rests on the quality of their channel relationships.

Yet, due in large part to the complexity of their distributor networks,

traditional marketing automation software has not provided these

companies with the benefits enjoyed by other marketing and sales

organizations. Until now.

A new breed of marketing automation software that combines the best

features of asset management, marketing automation functionality and

Sales Enablement capabilities is emerging, specifically to address the

challenges of channel partnerships. We call it Channel Marketing

Automation.

This How-To Guide is designed to help companies with reseller, dealer

and distributor networks to empower their channel partners with the tools,

information and technology they need for revenue growth and

profitability by using Channel Marketing Automation.

How-To Guide

© 2014 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

WHAT IS CHANNEL MARKETING AUTOMATION? At Demand Metric, we define Channel Marketing Automation as the

strategies, technologies, tools and best practices used to optimize channel

partnerships for better performance and profitability.

Channel Marketing Automation goes beyond traditional marketing

automation known for lead generation, nurturing and scoring to include

asset management and Sales Enablement functions. This integrated asset,

automation and enablement system approach allows companies to

maintain control over their brand while providing maximum marketing

and sales support and flexibility to their channel partners.

CHANNEL MARKETING AUTOMATION BENEFITS Channel Marketing Automation offers the following benefits to your

organization’s channel partners:

Improves partner engagement by automating marketing tasks,

giving them the right marketing and sales materials to present your

products and services to their customers.

Maintains corporate brand integrity across multiple channel

partners while giving partners the flexibility to personalize their

content and sales materials.

Accelerates content marketing and delivery with a fully automated

asset management system.

Empowers channel sales teams by directly connecting them to the

marketing materials they need, exactly when they need them.

Creates channel incentives through multi-tiered marketing and

sales automation.

Increases channel demand generation by automating your partners’

lead generation, scoring and nurturing programs for them, giving

them more time to sell for you.

Generates and tracks partner leads to avoid channel conflict and

evaluate the strength of your channel.

How-To Guide

© 2014 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Enhances your channel partners social sharing and influence

marketing with social media syndication tools.

Increases visibility and insight into channel partners’ performance.

Measures activity and results so you know what campaigns are

working and why.

BEST PRACTICES FOR CHANNEL MARKETING AUTOMATION Demand Metric recommends six best practices to ensure success in

developing a Channel Marketing Automation program:

1. Profile. Create a profile or persona that represents each distinct

type of channel partner. Focus on the business success criteria of

your channel. Do you know what makes them successful? How do

they run their business? What are their key challenges and

obstacles? The better you know your channel partners and their

business, the better your Channel Marketing Automation strategy

will be.

2. Engage. We recommend two best practice steps for engaging

channel partners here. The first is to invite some of your top

channel partners, those who are already your best ambassadors and

top performers, to help craft your channel marketing strategy. This

assures that your strategy is developed with partner needs at the

forefront. The second step is to engage your entire network with

communication and connection. Share your Channel Marketing

Automation plans, in detail, with all your partners as soon as

possible, giving them time to prepare and setting the stage for the

education phase.

3. Educate. Develop a detailed education and roll out plan for your

entire channel. Channel partners will undoubtedly have varying

degrees of technology skill and knowledge. A solid education plan

that explains the new marketing automation system, showcases the

benefits and provides step-by-step instruction on usage will ensure

your Channel Marketing Automation investment provides a solid

ROI.

How-To Guide

© 2014 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

4. Empower. Make sure that your channel partners have the

knowledge, skills and tools to use the Channel Marketing

Automation system effectively. Provide exact details on the kinds

of tools, people talent and business/technology infrastructure each

partner-company needs to have in-house to make the most of the

new system.

5. Incentivize. Provide incentives to use the system through rewards,

rebates or cash incentives. If you want to go a step further, add

Gamification features to your system to increase participation.

6. Measure. Make sure metrics are in place to track the success

and/or potential challenges of your channel partners. Your

Channel Marketing Automation vendor should have a set of

metrics built into their solution. These may require customization

for your channel.

VENDOR SELECTION CRITERIA Look for the following features and functions when selecting a vendor for

your Channel Marketing Automation solution:

Asset Management. Unlike traditional marketing automation,

which focuses on demand generation, Channel Marketing

Automation requires corporate brand integrity be protected and

maintained as it is distributed through the channel. Asset

management features like user-access controls, customizable

template libraries, on-demand access to marketing and sales

materials and flexible on and off-line printing options protect your

brand and drive channel sales.

Lead Generation. Your vendor should support the primary

features of a solid marketing automation system including lead

generation, scoring and nurturing.

Lead Management. Your vendors’ solution should include

features like lead distribution and registration to help avoid

channel conflict and manage leads effectively.

How-To Guide

© 2014 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Campaign Management. Your Channel Marketing Automation

system must enable partners to develop, schedule and send

campaigns based on general interest as well as specific

engagement behaviors. Integrating multi-tiered marketing and

sales campaigns into your strategy will give your partners more

options and flexibility.

Sales Enablement. Features such as mobile presentation apps,

sales portals and sales playbooks will make your partners’ sales

team more effective. Vendors that integrate Sales Enablement

features into their Channel Marketing Automation solutions

provide the best of both worlds – marketing and sales.

Analytics. Your vendor should provide a core set of metrics and

measurements that provide you with insights into how your

channel is performing against leads provided. Look for a vendor

that offers an intuitive analytics dashboard for visibility,

performance data capture for review and program refinement.

Your vendor’s metrics should enable you to easily track your

partners’ activities and level of engagement. Metrics that also track

collateral effectiveness, which marketing and sales materials are

working best for engagement and conversion, are key to effective

asset management.

ACTION PLAN

1. Evaluate and profile your channel partners to assess their level

of preparedness for a Channel Marketing Automation Initiative.

2. Create a Partner Council of your strongest and highest

performing channel partners to help develop your Channel

Marketing Automation strategy and roll out plan.

3. Use the Vendor Selection Criteria listed above to evaluate

potential Channel Marketing Automation Vendors.

4. Use our Marketing Channel Ranking Tool to help you evaluate

marketing campaigns that will work best for your channel

partners.

How-To Guide

© 2014 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

5. Develop your plan with your Partner Council and vendor

partner and use our best practice steps to launch your new

Channel Marketing Automation initiative.

BOTTOM LINE Your Channel and Distribution Partners are the lifeblood of your

revenues and profits. A new breed of marketing automation software

that combines the best features of asset management, marketing

automation functionality and Sales Enablement capabilities is emerging;

specifically to address the challenges of channel partnerships. Ensure the

success of your channel by investing in a Channel Marketing Automation

solution.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH ANALYST

Clare Price is a Research Director who covers marketing

strategy, strategic communications, sales enablement and

marketing technology. Clare is a former Research Director at

Gartner Group and helped build their Internet Strategies

Services with clients such as Microsoft, IBM, HP, Cisco,

Proctor & Gamble and Wells Fargo.

Her specialties include: brand strategy, brand development,

customer acquisition and relationship development, content and

digital marketing strategy and social media marketing.

ABOUT THE SPONSOR

Mindmatrix is a cutting-edge marketing automation and sales enablement company. Our

platform incorporates all the functions and metrics essential to your sales and marketing

departments into a single software package.

Mindmatrix’s marketing automation platform will help you generate leads, cultivate interest

and excitement about your organization, and ultimately… close sales. From the initial contact

with a potential customer all the way through to their first purchase, and beyond, we have your

sales and marketing teams covered.