I have many creative and smart friends that I met through Move the Channel. Let’s hear their ideas about Moving the Channel! Enjoy our guest blog section:
Five ways to drop a little WOW in your channel
By Adam Lang
Just a few weeks ago, I posted this in “Move the Channel’s” Linkedin Group:
“As I was building out my 2017 plans, I kept stumbling on the question ‘What makes a successful channel marketer?’”
Being relatively new to channel marketing, I began researching this topic and landed on several key ingredients; but the one that stood out the most was “mindshare.” Of course, this then posed the question, “How do I win mindshare?” After careful consideration, I narrowed it down to a mini framework of being Simple, Different and Fun (I added “simple” since my post in MTC).
Now that I have this framework to guide my approach and remain consistent, I’ve begun to craft my 2017 content calendar, filled with key initiatives that will move the channel. Things like partner certification courses, infographics, video success stories, and enablement content. Unlike last year, I’m working on incorporating these three pillars into my plans on a monthly basis to drive behavior. And for every piece of content I produce moving forward, it has to pass the SDF Test (Simple, Different and Fun ) to be shared with my channel partners.
As I was scribbling down ways to inject a little Fun to drive behavior and action in my channel, I thought it only made sense to share a few on Move The Channel.
There are several on-demand delivery services available in your pocket – Postmates, BiteSquad, Doordash, and Instacart, to name a few, but there’s only one that’s hit a Grand Slam (pun intended) on the late-night sweet tooth. Meet GoPuff, the on-demand delivery service that literally puts thousands of items at your fingertips. Ranging from college essentials, party supplies, candy and frozen foods.
Just be aware, they only deliver on-demand, meaning thirty minutes or less in highly demanded parts of markets.
Channel Fun: Prior to our last call blitz with a partner, I secretly put together and delivered BIG candy bags to three different offices across the country. Not even health freaks can resist a good ol’ Fun Dip in the morning.
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Gift Cards
There’s no better way to surprise and delight your partner reps than sending gift cards. Of course, they’re the usual suspects like Starbucks, Amazon, and iTunes, but if you’re feeling a little more unique, try and align your gift card with a current event or holiday – it will come across as more thoughtful. And building positive associations with your brand will improve your product rank, which will, in turn, win mindshare. Aspire to be the brand that’s associated with fun, helpful and/or clever.
Channel Fun: More recently, I was attending a partner event and requested feedback from a crowd of partner reps. I sent gift cards to the reps that eagerly raised their hands and provided valuable input. At the end of the day, their feedback inspires new ideas and it was important to me to recognize their effort.
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Featured on Social
Who doesn’t like to be recognized? Whether you do this on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis, I think it’s really important to recognize top performing partner reps. At the end of the day, these reps are not only helping you hit your goals, but they are helping your organization hit theirs.
Channel Fun: We decided to reward top performing partners reps by sending crystal clear wedges with their names engraved on them. We informed their bosses of their achievement and requested selfies with their awards so we could feature them on Twitter. A little recognition goes a long way.
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Branded Cornhole boards
Last summer we kicked off a new partnership. Like any party, we rented a private space, opened up the bar, bumped the music and gave away some SWAG. To make it unique, we surprised the teams with a fun activity, one that required little thinking but a whole lot of socializing. We ordered co-branded cornhole boards and, not surprisingly, they were the highlight of the evening. More importantly, it got people to partner up and talk to each other without it feeling like a forced ice-breaker.
Channel Fun: If you want a set of your own, I highly recommend All American Tailgate, just make sure you tell your boss about the bizarre line item on your next expense report.
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Banners with Hidden Messages
Communication, lots of it, is key to staying top of mind and building strong relationships with partners. Common sense, but it can sometimes be a challenge to get approval from management for in-person training sessions as often as you’d like.
If you can’t show up in person regularly, ask your partners if it’s ok to create and hang a banner (or two) in the office, it’s the next best trigger. You can even get a little creative by displaying a hidden message and refer back to it a few months later.
Channel Fun: If the hidden message is subtle enough, the majority of partner reps may not even notice it the first few times they look at it. And if you’re lucky enough, for those that do recognize it, they’ll ask themselves, “Why 59?” Eventually, their curiosity will fade away, but you’ve done your job for the moment.
In the future, you can run a contest, having the reps guess how the number relates to your organization. I can guarantee that when you reveal the meaning behind the number, they won’t forget it the next day. Hello, long-term memory. Hello, leads.
Whether it’s co-branded socks, snuggies or cupcakes, we want to hear how you drop a little WOW in your channel.
Please join the conversation on Move the Channel and share how you’ve dropped a little WOW in your channel.
BIO:
Adam Lang is a Channel Marketer at Concur and the Founder of Rewind & Capture — a naming tool that helps tech founders analyze the strength of their potential brand names.