Critical Differentiators in Channel Marketing Automation
Enterprise brands that sell products through local channel partners need to quickly and accurately connect the dots between local marketing campaigns and the traffic, leads and sales they generate. Without clear visibility on measurable results from channel partners — dealers, distributors, retailers, agents, franchisees, brokers, corporate stores, independent locations, and frontline employees — brands can’t accurately determine the return on ad spend or make timely data-driven decisions to adapt to changing market conditions. That means it’s time to upgrade to a leading Distributed Marketing platform.
Finding the right Distributed Marketing software, or Through Channel Marketing Automation (TCMA) platform, involves weeding out mediocre options, so you can zero in on the leading martech provider capable of solving all the challenges facing your brand and your reseller network. If you run across a single-point solution that needs to be cobbled together with other systems, then keep looking. At first, researching TCMA and Distributed Marketing solutions might seem complex, but it does not have to be. That’s why we’ve put together a quick checklist of crucial differentiators to look for in a leading Channel Marketing Automation solution:
Marketing Analytics
Leading Distributed Marketing platforms make it easy for brand marketers to access ROI data by embedding marketing analytics across various touchpoints, making it possible to compare and accurately attribute data from various sources. It’s not enough to get results on the performance of local marketing campaigns. Brand marketers need to compare the effectiveness of different tactics, across different regions, tiers, and specific reseller partners within their networks. They also need visibility on partner engagement and platform usage.
Partner Success Management
The way brands manage their partner networks can have a direct impact on sales. Not all reseller partners have the same level of expertise or experience in local marketing, and many need help understanding how to implement digital marketing tactics, social media marketing campaigns, and email marketing. Leading Distributed Marketing platforms understand this and include Partner Success Management in a comprehensive offering. Collecting data on how partners use the Distributed Marketing platform is one piece of the puzzle. Partner Success Management also includes expert local marketing support for sales and marketing field managers and one-on-one reseller partner support.
Innovative Co-Op Advertising and Market Development Funds programs
Many TCMA and Distributed Marketing platforms claim to be compatible with third-party claims and reimbursement vendors or existing Co-Op Advertising programs. However, upon closer inspection, they may be using expensive and outdated manual processes as stop-gap measures to overcome incompatible systems. Leading Distributed Marketing platforms resolve this issue by including Co-Op Advertising and Market Development Funds reimbursement processes within the platform, eliminating the issue of incompatibility altogether. Look for a platform that gives you multiple options — including claims and reimbursement, co-pay and change management — so it can evolve and scale with your brand and your partner network, as your funds management needs change.
Speed-to-Market
Every minute counts. In the fast-paced world of local marketing, market conditions can change in a matter of moments. Brands that need days to create or update brand-to-local messaging and respond to changing market conditions are at a competitive disadvantage. Leading Distributed Marketing platforms include streamlined processes that measure local marketing execution in minutes instead of days.
Local Marketing Campaign Execution
Executing local marketing campaigns is an essential component for a successful Distributed Marketing strategy. Leading distributed marketing platforms ensure that the entire process of local marketing campaign execution is automated and easily accessible to permissioned partners and internal brand teams. Your Distributed Marketing platform should be simple and easy to use for your channel partners and employee end users. so they can spend less time on marketing and more time building customer relationships and closing sales.
Native Ad Builder Technology
When native ad builder technology is an integral part of a comprehensive Distributed Marketing platform, it gives brands more than they could ever get out of a single-point ad building solution or any combination of ad building vendors or agencies. Look for a leading Distributed Marketing platform that can save your brand time and money by automating ad customization, vendor management, brand guidelines and approvals on Co-Op Marketing claims and reimbursement. More innovative Distributed Marketing platforms even give brands the option of keeping their preferred vendors by integrating them into the platform’s network of Marketing Service Providers.
Flawless Marketing Campaign Fulfillment
Now, let’s talk about what that Marketing Service Provider network should look like. When third-party providers are integrated in a leading Distributed Marketing platform, it means the platform has internal systems in place to vet, monitor and manage vendors on a regular basis so your brand marketing team doesn’t have to. It also means that the vendors within the network must maintain the highest quality results, with a wide array of options from the latest digital marketing tactics to tried-and-true traditional marketing tactics. This gives brands and their partners the assurance of flawless results without the headaches and hassle of managing the process.
Choosing a Distributed Marketing platform is a big decision that will inevitably have a ripple effect on brand-to-local marketing strategy and sales results. And there is an ocean of difference between those who make big claims and those who deliver measurable results. The key is to find a Channel Marketing Automation solution that can evolve and scale to help your brand grow.