From Starbucks to Outsourcing, Partners Seek New Ways of Reaching Customers

Solution providers are embracing unconventional marketing strategies and outsourcing digital outreach as the effectiveness of tried-and-true telemarketing methods wanes.

Ingram Micro and Synnex partners said the move away from a break-fix, product-oriented business model toward a world of recurring revenue services has amplified the need for a strong, distinctive brand. Partners of both distributors spoke with CRN during exclusive roundtables at recent conferences.

"If somebody has the need, they're not waiting for somebody to call," said Guy Baroan, president of Baroan Technologies in Elmwood Park, N.J., and a member of Ingram Micro's Trust X Alliance. "They're going online and looking at what's available out there."

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Solution providers of all sizes have dramatically increased their investment in brand strategies over the past three years as the realize the importance of a robust marketing and communications strategy in a digital and cloud-centric world, said Denis Crupi, director of creative services for Agency Ingram Micro, the distributor's in-house marketing agency.

The need for a more robust, dedicated virtual presence prompted AMA to bring in IT marketing mavens TriDigital in March and outsourcing all marketing functions to them, said Daniel Cheng, president of the of Mississauga, Ontario-based Trust X Alliance partner.

"Marketing is a specialty," Cheng said. "We just found that we were always catching up."

AMA now has a virtual chief marketing officer (CMO) based in Texas dedicated to thinking about the company's social media and inbound marketing every day. Cheng said he meets with the CMO and TriDigital's creative team biweekly, and is pleased with what he's seen so far from the outsourcing.

Many IT employees also struggle to explain the relevance and purpose of their products and services, prompting End to End Networks to seek out external subject matter experts to pursue prospective customers and guide them through the sales process, said Cathy Vankesteren, a senior vice president at the Markham, Ontario-based Trust X Alliance partner.

For this reason, Vankesteren said End to End Networks has outsourced most of its marketing responsibilities, with Agency Ingram Micro picking up most of the work.

Another option for solution providers comes from CRN publisher The Channel Company, which offers a variety of inbound and outbound marketing services via its Managed Marketing Services division. The Channel Company teams with vendors to offer a menu of customized marketing programs that can be funded via MDF.

Many solution providers continue to do their own marketing but have instead sought out innovative way to establish connections with prospective customers.

Ace Net Consulting used $600 of market development funds from Hewlett-Packard to buy cups of coffee for Starbucks customers, according to assistant managing partner Pat Turney. The Tulsa, Okla.-based member of Synnex's Varnex program spend 2.5 hours buying coffee, handing out Ace Network postcards and showing off cutting-edge education tablets.

The outreach effort was successful, Turney said, procuring Ace Net a lot of goodwill among Tulsa's business community as well as a handful of leads and contacts. Ace Net has replicated the effort in other settings, he said, buying buckets of golf balls at a local driving range as employees were getting out of work on a Friday and handing out $5 off coupons in the lobby of a full-service car wash on a Saturday.

Turney believes the soft, low-key tactics build goodwill among potential customers and put Ace Net on the radar of many new business owners.

Similarly, Westwind Computer Products tries to build goodwill among its potential customer base by installing and deploying video walls at charity events that can be used for presentations or to display ads from sponsors, according to Steve Hull, vice president of the Albuquerque, N.M.-based Varnex partner.

Most charities award Westwind a gold or platinum-level sponsorship for the video walls, he said, even though the donation cost Hull nothing but manpower since Westwind already has the demo equipment.

The video walls not only allows charities to charge more money for sponsorships, Hull said, but also boost sales of the offering itself by putting in on the radar of more business owners.

Like Ace Net, Westwind also takes advantage of events in the community, notably the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which Hull said the company invites all their OEM partners to participate in.

Giveaways aren't feasible, though, for solution providers operating in the public sector due to strict ethics rules, according to Kathy Pakkebier, founder and president of PCS Mobile. The Denver-based Varnex partner therefore focuses on newsletter, webinars and lunch and learns around topics such as body cameras, Pakkebier said.

The quality of leads varies dramatically between those procured through versus those social media or white papers versus those received through telemarketing, solicitations and cold calling, according to Baroan of Baroan Technologies.

Appointments set up from telemarketing or blind solicitations tend to be hit or miss since it's unclear if the client even has a need, Baroan said. Conversely, clients who reach out to Baroan Technologies based off blogs, white papers or social media typically already know what they're looking for, which help shorten the sales cycle.

"When people contact us from the web, they've already done their research and they already know you're the right company," Baroan said.

For this reason, Baroan Technologies has focused on building a big social media presence and is very active in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest, Baroan said.

AMA has had a similar experience to Baroan, Cheng said, finding that a volume-based approach where they relied on a Philippines call center for telemarketing produced very few customer leads. AMA has therefore shifted its focus to inbound marketing, ensuring that leads are nurtured and sales reps aren't reaching out to prospective customers too early.

Crupi of Agency Ingram Micro likewise said that solution providers with a strong brand position should focus on content marketing using a marketing automation tool since businesses are typically 60 percent of the way through their buying journey before they even contact a solution provider.

"They're doing all that homework online," Crupi said, "so online is where you want that marketing to happen."

PUBLISHED JUNE 26, 2015