The Partner Channel Magazine Winter 2016

» Do I have the ability to do this right? Let’s say you plan on hosting a live event or webinar. Do you have
enough time to create and send the invitations, make reminder calls, create the landing page, build beautiful
graphics, run all the event logistics, prepare the presentations, and send after-event follow-up emails? A lot of
time and effort goes into each piece. If you can’t do it all, maybe you shouldn’t do this event – at least not right
now. You are far better off doing fewer things 100 percent of the way than being half-committed to a whole
bunch of activities.
» How will we know if this activity has been successful? Success measurements are an area where
marketing and sales need to get on the same page. Marketing will consider a campaign successful if it gets
a significant number of downloads, whereas sales might think the campaign is a failure because no leads
converted into opportunities. Set up success criteria at the beginning of the campaign. Make sure sales and
marketing personnel each know their roles and how this campaign fits into the overarching goals of the sales/
marketing department.
» How long are we going to be committed to this endeavor? What’s the level of effort required?
Relationship marketing and content marketing are marathons, not sprints. If you are going to commit to
producing a blog or podcast, you need to stick with it. Be realistic about your expectations. Don’t be discouraged
when people don’t show up in droves right away. Last year, I helped a company get really consistent with their
blogging and social media. I told them they had to commit to at least a year, and I’m glad I did, because it
took some time to figure out what really resonated with their audience. A year later, their sales are up 30
percent, and the only thing we changed was their online presence. Give yourself time to learn what it takes. If
something still isn’t producing results for you a year down the road, then it’s time to re-evaluate.
» Do we have money for this in the budget? If not, what will we have to give up to do this? Sometimes
marketing involves not just the trade-off of one marketing activity for another, but rather this marketing activity
versus hiring another person or purchasing equipment or software. Because marketing is often treated as an
expense (versus an investment), it’s often the first department to get its budget re-allocated to something more
pressing. That’s one of the reasons I recommend clients have a committed marketing budget. You absolutely
cannot have professional, ongoing marketing activities if your marketing team always has to run to finance to
ask for spending approval. Set an amount. Stick to it. If you don’t know what your marketing budget should be,
budget for a marketing consultant who can help you figure it out.
Marketing is constantly evolving, so it’s important to try new things. Asking these seven questions will help
reduce your risk and get you a positive return on your marketing investments. I also recommend you give yourself
a little wiggle room. Write your budget “in pencil” so you can shift dollars around and have some cushion for when
Microsoft or another Partner comes up with a brilliant idea that you want to participate in. Keep your eyes and ears
open for opportunity, but don’t be afraid to say NO if the fit isn’t right.
Need a little velocity added to your marketing projects? Contact the marketing tornado at Amachina@tornadomktg.com.
“”
Marketing is constantly evolving, so it’s important to try new things.
Asking these seven questions will help reduce your risk and get you a positive return
on your marketing investments.
40 WINTER 2016 | THEPARTNERCHANNEL.COM