Tech Data To Host Marketing Summer Camp

The Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor plans to host its first TDAgency Summer Camp July 13-15 to help about 40 solution providers better market themselves to their customers. The program will cover how to develop a consistent marketing strategy and implement it through direct mail, advertising, presentations, images and Webinars, said Brian Gibson, director of marketing at Tech Data.

A successful event likely would lead to future marketing events, such as a large annual gathering or smaller regional meetings, for hundreds of solution providers, Gibson said. "We've considered both of those options. It depends on what the participants think," he said.

Tech Data has held marketing sessions for solution providers at previous events, including its TechSelect Invitationals, but the sessions often were an hour or less, which limited the scope of the discussion, Gibson said. The Summer Camp format allows for a more comprehensive agenda, he said.

"Many of our resellers don't have anybody in their organization dedicated to marketing, or if they do it's one of a number of responsibilities for that person, even though they admit it's a need for the business," Gibson said. "There is opportunity for us because of that."

Heather Hummel, marketing manager at ePlus Technology, a Herndon, Va.-based solution provider, said a marketing-specific event would help her business. "When you try training via WebEx or conference calls, there are too many distractions still in the office," she said. "My hope is to voice some concerns over limited ways vendors' [marketing] funds can be used and how we can increase our ROI on our own campaigns and trade shows."

Effective marketing campaigns take time to develop and must include more than a logo on a golf ball, Gibson said.

"It's ROI-focused now. People get money, but they don't know what to do with it. They're always in reactive mode and end up slapping their logo on a product. That's not a strong strategic message," he said. "The most important thing is to develop a plan. We can help develop tactics, look for best practices and know what was used in the past. And we can measure them."

Tech Data helped one large customer centralize its marketing campaign, which resulted in a 400 percent to 500 percent sales increase through the distributor, Gibson said.