Inbound Channel Marketing ChecklistA Self-Assessment Tool for Modernizing Channel Marketing

Table of ContentsIntroduction

Inbound Channel Marketing Checklist

Capabilities Review

Scoring Your Checklist

Conclusion

IntroductionIt was an overcast day in October 2015. I was meeting with Peter Thomas, CEO of Averetek. For a couple hours, we had been working on our plans for the next few years, but we were stuck. We knew the problem we wanted to solve for the market, but we couldn’t find a simple way to explain the solution.

Buyer behavior is changing but channel marketing isn’t changing with it. The channel is still using pushy outbound marketing tactics. Modern buyers want to work with companies who are more oriented around teaching and learning.The Inbound Marketing methodology pioneered by HubSpot provides a great example of what life could be like for the channel, but it’s always been positioned for direct marketing with no equivalent approach to take for the channel.

We went for a walk to keep talking through our ideas, and on that walk we had our “aha” moment.

What if we were to combine the Inbound Marketing methodology with the traditional practices of channel marketing – marketing to, with, through, and for our channel partners?

This combination, what we refer to as Inbound Channel Marketing, provides a framework to modernize channel marketing, so that brands and their partners aren’t left behind by the changing market.

The good news is that you may already have some of the capabilities of Inbound Channel Marketing and not even know it.

Until now.

We’ve put together a checklist – comprised of the capabilities that are essential for inbound channel marketing success – for you to use as a scorecard. It is an easy way to figure out where you are…and where you can go.

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Mike MooreVP, Channel Strategy at Averetek

How to Use the Inbound Channel

Marketing Checklist

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As you review each capability, use the checklist to rate:• Your partner marketing programs – do you offer

programs and resources to enable your partners to the level described for each capability?

• An individual partner – how capable is a specific partner? For each capability, do they have basic, proficient, or advanced skills?

• A group of partners – how capable is the group to reach the market using these tactics?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Basic Skills Proficient Skills Advanced Skills+1 +3 +5

1. Print out the checklist on the next page so you can track your points as you review the Inbound Channel Marketing capabilities that follow.

2. Read through the descriptions of the different inbound marketing capabilities and examples of how they are applied to channel efforts at varying skill levels.

Inbound Channel Marketing Checklist

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Capabilities Level 1 Level 2 Level 3+1 +3 +5

BlogKeywords/ SEOSocial MediaCalls-to-ActionLanding PagesFormsContact ManagementEmailWorkflowsSmart Content

TotalGrand Total

Instructions:1. Review the capability descriptions.2. Score your partners or your programs.3. Tally your scores and check page 12 to see

how you fare.

INBOUND CHANNEL MARKETING CAPABILITIES REVIEW

Review the following capabilities and record your score as you go.

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BlogWriting a blog is decidedly more creative than crafting other business communications. There is great flexibility on topic and allows the writer to show more personality. Anyone is able to blog on LinkedIn, and that is a great starting point.

To what extent do you enable your channel partners to blog?

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Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Blog on LinkedIn; post monthly or bi-weekly; blogs contain basic calls-to-action.

Blog hosted on company website; post weekly; blogs contain variety of calls-to-action.

Regular blogging; interaction with commenters; cross posting other thought-leaders’ content; blog subscriptions for readers; blogs contain compelling and specific calls-to-action.

+1 +3 +5

Keywords/SEOWebsites say so much more than what is visible on the screen. The proper keywords and SEO techniques need to be in place to drive website traffic. We are advocates of optimizing for organic search traffic – get what you can for free before buying keywords.

To what extent do you enable your channel partners to utilize keyword/SEO techniques?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Have a website with basic content; have a basic keyword strategy; identify the 10-20 keywords relevant to the business based on who the buyers are and what type of searches they’re likely to do; have the ability to track keywords.

Optimize for those keywords in your content website pages and blog articles; applying basic level of analytics tools (Moz, Google) to learn how and why organic search traffic gets to the website.

Employing outside tactics and tools to manage SEO and keywords; identifying related keywords to expand reach.

+1 +3 +5

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Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Create company page on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+, maintaining them with current information, and sharing new content on a weekly basis. A passive effort.

More proactive in engaging the audience; interacting with others and their content; participating in conversations; social thumbnail links on company website.

Moving beyond company social channels by getting individuals at the company involved; cross linking other websites and content; serving content to contacts based on what they have shared on social media.

+1 +3 +5

Social MediaPeople are using these platforms personally. Making the move to using social networks professionally can be a simple way to get content in front of potential customers without a hard sell. Choice of platform – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube – will depend on the target audience and type of content being shared.

To what extent do you enable your channel partners to utilize social media?

Calls-to-ActionA strong call-to-action is one that compels a visitor to take the requested action. The benefit needs to be clear, as does the deliverable. There are a number of best practices to planning and delivering calls to action that are appropriate for the buyer personas being targeted and will produce the intended action. To what extent do you enable your channel partners with strong calls-to-action?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Leverage vendor-provided content as an offer.

Original partner content compelling enough to drive conversion.

A variety of calls-to-action aligned by persona to cover all buyer’s journey stages.

+1 +3 +5

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Landing PagesCalls-to-Action drive traffic to landing pages, which is where prospective customers fill out forms to take advantage of the offer presented. Landing pages should be clean, clear, and informative.To what extent do you enable your channel partners to utilize landing pages?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3A simple landing page with a whitepaper or other top of the funnel offer and a short-form.

A complete campaign with a landing page and appropriate offer aligned to the stages of the buyer’s journey (attract, convert, close).

Multiple campaigns with landing pages to address a variety of buyer personas at each stage of the buyer’s journey.

+1 +3 +5FormsForms work in concert with calls-to-action and landing pages. Ideally, forms ask for a small amount of information in the initial buying stages. As the customers move deeper into the buyer’s journey, forms can go beyond basic questions and attempt to qualify the prospect.To what extent do you enable your channel partners to utilize forms?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Form capability exists on the partner’s website; basic offering with a form gathering contact name and email address.

More compelling content to offer, with form that gathers business card details; tracking of information; beginning to use progressive profiling – building on to the customers’ profiles as they fill out more forms.

Customer-specific offerings, more in-depth forms with questions about the customer’s business needs and intended purchase; more advanced use of progressive profiling, creating content with the specific intent of gathering specific information to qualify prospects.

+1 +3 +5

Contact ManagementContact management is an important part of doing business at all stages of the customer lifecycle, so your partners need to have these capabilities in place from the start. When it comes to closing business, it is all about contact development. Does the partner store contact information in a CRM? How are sales interactions and marketing activities incorporated to get a complete picture of what the customer is interested in?To what extent do you enable your channel partners to utilize contact management?

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Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Collecting and managing contacts in a central database.

Management of information, incorporating several sources: website, social networks, sales, marketing, etc.

Synchronized engagement with contacts across sales and marketing, with coordinated and intentional messaging, including nurture programs.

+1 +3 +5

EmailEmail communication needs to be carefully crafted and contain information relevant to the prospect. It should be a follow-up to the prospect’s activity on the partner’s website (filled out a form, clicked on an offer, etc.) or interaction with social media accounts. To what extent do you enable your channel partners to utilize email?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Periodic email campaigns to promote an offer.

Regular email campaigns to promote an offer based on interests expressed by the prospect.

Always-on email campaigns using intelligence from prospect’s activities that nurture and develop interest in products and services.

+1 +3 +5

WorkflowsMarketing automation technology can be used to help move prospects through the buyer’s journey. Workflows can be designed to understand the interests and actions of visitors, essentially reading the digital body language of their web site visits, and then offering the right next step for that specific person. To what extent do you enable your channel partners to utilize workflows?

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Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Manually placing people on lists for nurture programs based on marketing actions like a form submission.

Automated nurture programs that run continuously and offer calls-to-action that advance the buyer’s journey.

Automated nurture programs with if/then forks that branch to take prospects backward, forward, or on parallel paths based on their response or lack of response to offers.

+1 +3 +5

Smart ContentPersonalization is at the heart of a well-developed inbound marketing plan. When the information collected about a person and their interests is used to change what they see in an email or on a web page, that’s smart content. This level of personalization requires sophistication in buyer persona definition, content planning and creation, and the use of technology to make it all work.To what extent do you enable your channel partners to utilize smart content?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Deliver a personalized message when a known recipient is included in an email program.

Deliver content that dynamically changes a call to action, offer, or message when a known visitor returns to a specific page on the website.

Deliver content that dynamically changes a call to action, offer, or message when a known visitor returns to several areas of the website.

+1 +3 +5

Scoring Your Checklist

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If your score is less than 15:You are an Inbound Channel Marketing Up-and-Comer. These capabilities might be new to you, but you are making strides, and that's what counts.Next step: Look at all of the capabilities, and identify which one would be most easily accomplished using the personnel and resources you have on hand. Commit to implementing two new or expanded efforts per year for steady and manageable growth. Enlist your vendors to assist you in your quest.

If your score is between 15 and 24 points:You are an Inbound Channel Marketing Evangelist – you've achieved a lot, but luckily still have room to grow.Next step: Look at the capabilities and pinpoint which need a boost; focus next on those activities. Commit to implementing three new or expanded efforts per year. Work with your vendors on creative ways to achieve your goals.

If your score is between 25 and 50 points:You are an Inbound Channel Marketing Powerhouse, using the techniques in a variety of ways and adapting your methods as your audience evolves. Next step: Explore those areas where you didn’t score as high and commit to implementing a new or expanded effort each quarter. Collaborate with your vendors to come up with new ideas.

ConclusionYou’ve filled out the scorecard…but now what? No matter your mastery level, the next steps are the same. It’s time to take a closer look at the effectiveness of the capabilities that you and your partners have, and evaluate where and how they can be strengthened. Alternatively, if something is lacking, now is the perfect time to formulate a plan for how to increase you and your partners’ inbound repertoire and apply it to your channel activities.The inbound methodology is engaging, dynamic and modern. Having these skills and capabilities is essential to continued growth and efficiency in channel marketing. You don’t want your channel to be left behind; rather, you want to equip your partners with the resources they need as they evolve into industry leaders.Brainstorm with your partners and challenge yourselves to come up with the most creative ways to adapt the inbound methodology to your channel. And when you do, we’d love to hear about it!

P.S. Need help enabling your programs and partners with Inbound Channel Marketing capabilities? We’d love to help.

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Mike MooreVP, Channel Strategy at AveretekMike Moore serves as Averetek's Vice President of Channel Strategy. In this capacity, Mike is responsible for the Company's corporate marketing strategy and operations, as well as spearheading strategy and initiatives for Averetek’s growing consulting practice. Mike has spent twenty years in the IT channel as a channel partner and as a channel marketer for software companies.