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Brands with a portion or the bulk of their sales coming from an indirect sales model have a unique set of marketing challenges, but this sector of business should be rejoicing in the current age of through-channel marketing automation.

Instead, as report after report shows, a growth-stifling disconnect exists between brand marketers and local channel partners that sell the brand's products or services.

For brands without a real strategy going into the new year, revenue projections may well remain unobtainable in 2016. So here are 10 essential steps to achieving revenue growth, next year and beyond.

1. Go hyper-local

Your customers are already shopping in a particular ZIP code: Engage them right where they are with a co-branded experience they know and trust—you and your local channel partner.

2. Apply brand rules to local marketing efforts

Scalable, customized marketing automation is the key. Set the rules and have the local partner enroll in the available campaigns. Plug-and-play apps offer simplified delivery with sophisticated data and analytics to measure ROI.

3. Retarget with impact

Significantly increase brand and channel partner recall with consistent messages through a variety of channels. Your co-branded efforts become omnipresent and organically connected to the local customer's everyday life: on tablets, smartphones, desktops, laptops, you name it... your brand is there with them.

4. Use co-op and MDF funds strategically

A recent benchmark report by Gleanster Research found that brands that use co-op and MDF programs strategically had better participation rates and revenue growth as a result. When data from the past few years confirms that billions of dollars in co-op and MDF programs go unused year after year, these programs hold great potential. Don't merely settle for what has been done in the past. Brand marketers who are flexible, good listeners, and willing to adapt by changing the outdated "Claims and Reimbursement" process to a new and innovative "Co-Pay" model will be better equipped to increase engagement and adoption for their channel partners, yielding increased participation and brand compliance.

5. Your micro message has macro potential

Your local channel partners have a customer base, and the brand has content to engage those customers. The key is to use automation technology to let the information flow, reaching the local customers on all levels with a co-branded, seamless experience.

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10 Essential Steps to Revenue Growth in 2016 for Brands With an Indirect Sales Model

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Gary Ritkes

Gary Ritkes is the president of SproutLoud Media Networks, a leading through-channel marketing automation provider based in Sunrise, FL.

LinkedIn: Gary Ritkes