Are you doing enough to harness the Power of Partner Channels in 2024? Act Now!
Traditional outreach marketing methods have become less and less useful for B2B businesses. Fear not! Embrace the future of B2B business with a revamped Sales Partner channel strategy. In this article, we delve into the essential strategies for navigating the new era of circular marketing and ensuring your success in 2024.
Why Sales Channels Matter More in 2024
Traditional marketing approaches are losing their effectiveness rapidly. What worked in 2022 failed in 2023, and the same fate awaits in 2024. To thrive, it’s crucial to reimagine your sales channel marketing plan.
“The problem these days is people don’t know how to want the things we make.” — Bill Gates
Outdated Marketing Methods:
Several once-effective methods are now showing their age:
- Websites: Expect quick exits if users don’t find what they seek immediately.
- Organic Search: Know that new brands will struggle due to Google’s focus on authority and search intent.
- LinkedIn Splurge Campaigns: You know how it is — Information overload resulting from AI-powered content saturation.
- Mass Email Marketing: Produce ever-lower hit rates and diminished returns.
- Inside Sales Telemarketing: Declining interest given that unsolicited calls are an irritant to buyers.
2024 Marketing Methods that Work:
Stay ahead of the curve with these effective strategies:
- Industry Events and Networking: Face-to-face interactions still hold power, fostering genuine connections.
- Roundtable Webinars: Businesses like yours are still achieving success in online settings, but the age of roundtable and webinar pitches is being replaced by 2-way virtual engagement platforms like Remo and Microsoft Mesh.
- Community-of-Interest Building: Establish authority by engaging in communities, utilizing tools like podcasts for discussions.
- Social Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Short, impactful reviews and video testimonials establish authority and bring personality to your business.
- Informative Newsletters: Slimline versions that inform, raise debate, and provide insights.
- Forensic LinkedIn Marketing: Develop a unique visual signature for your brand and target your audience forensically through LinkedIn using LinkedIn CRM platforms like LeadDelta.
- Gamifying Outreach: Entertaining apps foster engagement, curiosity, and interest.
- Closed Loop Marketing: Track and understand website visitor habits for targeted outreach by tracking the response journey of website visitors using tools like Encanvas, Showcasecloud, and Hubspot.
- Risk-Reward Strategies: Motivate action by offering value to your audience whilst ensuring your marketing efforts are rewarded!
- Micro-Rewards: Incentivize positive habits by offering small rewards.
- Co-Creation: Gain a first-mover advantage by collaborating on pre-sales exploratory work.
- Intimate Collaborative SME Events: Work through third-party providers like Tomlin&Co. for curated, intimate SME-led events.
Empower Your Partner Channel in 2024: Top Tips
Implement these initiatives for a more potent partner channel:
- Scorecard-Styled Performance System: Drive partner engagement by creating a performance scorecard, offering real-time insights for proactive decision-making.
- Community-of-Interest Digital Platforms: Establish profession-specific digital communities for targeted engagement.
- Co-Event Programs: Collaborate with external experts for SME-led events, creating a series for prolonged engagement.
- Micro-Rewards Points Programs: Incentivize positive behaviors with rewards, from gift cards to personalized debit cards.
- Virtual Conferencing: Leverage virtual conferencing solutions for cost-effective and impactful engagement.
Act Now and Reap the Rewards
If you’re not already re-writing your partner strategy, I suggest you give some thought as to whether you are missing out. What I would say is that, if you are looking to build a vibrant partner community, the place to start is to re-code your philosophical outlook towards marketing. Place traditional transactional marketing methods in the draw marked ‘yesterday's marketing methods’ and start thinking about your B2B marketing from a fresh ‘circular perspective’ that focuses on the progressive development of your brand equity within your partner community.
About the Author
Ian Tomlin is a seasoned marketer, entrepreneur, and business leader with a 30+ year career at the intersection of strategy, technology, and marketing. As the founder of successful businesses, including Newton Day Ltd, Ian brings a wealth of expertise in guiding companies toward compelling brand stories. Reach out to Ian via LinkedIn to transform your marketing approach and tell your brand story effectively.
