The Partner Channel Magazine_Winter 2018

“First impressions are vital for ISVs to expand their
brand and to drive awareness. A company’s key
messages drive the storyline, and it is critical for them
Within four months of the first contact, the ISV was assigned as a managed Partner to the U.S. Partner
Development Team, received one-on-one help with certification, and, in 18 months, this company was
experiencing rapid growth with more than a dozen Microsoft resellers on board and more than $1 million in
annual license revenue.
The first step in creating an effective story is a combination of art and science to create a well-designed and
detailed messaging framework. This tool is used to organize and highlight your company’s key differentiators
and strategies based on various targeted roles, audiences, and individuals, and to create a baseline to evolve
the message with new input and developments.
Any good story is comprised of a compelling theme, characters, tension, drama, and excitement. Thousands
of unique stories are played out every day in our community and ecosystem...every ISV has a story to tell.
It is imperative – through deep-dive sessions, research, and analysis of all outward-facing messages,
customers, case studies, competitors, etc. – to capture the unique differentiators that are the most critical to
the target market. Once defined, these can be organized by creating five to 10 messaging pillars to guide the
message. These can be further broken down and customized by target role (audience), alignment solution,
platform, vertical, medium, and desired outcomes as well as by creating value statements and adding
in conversational content such as customer and Partner success stories, ROI stats, and strategic impact
achievements.
During the messaging framework process, messaging pillars are validated with key influencers, insiders,
known experts, and advisors to help calibrate, refine, and prove out the key messages. This process greatly
enhances the effectiveness of the communication strategy and targeting while leveraging the credibility,
knowledge, and excitement of the individuals involved.
Continually test your story with experts and advisors, people who can provide input to better define and
highlight areas of strength, weaknesses, gaps, and opportunities that you may not have thought of yet.
Developing a highly targeted and specific communication strategy, focused on key sponsors, influencers,
and friendlies, is the key to initial success. A good story always includes strong references or champions that
provide credibility. Strong sponsors and influencers lead to strong references to new Partners, influencers,
market insight and intelligence, associations, and referrals, and, in short, provide additional credibility.
Recruiting sponsors and supporters using a well-defined contact strategy begins with socializing the content
and messages (news) informally to explore the uptake and alignment.
Key initial contacts in this phase can help gain support from other key sponsors. In one case, during this
phase, a leading Microsoft Dynamics ISV and longtime influencer in the community was able to recommend
a specific Microsoft recruit and development program that was in play, providing more than $75,000 in
marketing funds and services.
Generating strong sponsorship begets more sponsorship. As the story is told and enhanced with new
details and perspectives, ISVs gain more acceptance. Inherent credibility and acceptance among peers, and
32 WINTER 2018 | THEPARTNERCHANNEL.COM