CRN Exclusive: 'Pivoting' TBI Partners Will Now Have An All-In-One Marketing Platform At Their Fingertips

Many solution providers are pivoting their businesses to include new technologies and services, but in the meantime, marketing efforts around these new offerings often take a back seat.

Master agent Telecom Brokerage, Inc. (TBI) is lending a helping hand by extending a platform, Partner Marketing Center (PMC), to its channel partners on the house. The new tool will give TBI partners one place to easily build up their strategies and digital marketing efforts, even for one-person shop solution providers, TBI told CRN.

"We're seeing an appetite from partners like never before who need assistance. They realize the pace of change in the channel is quick and while they try to keep up with sales, they're lacking in brand presence and being able to explain everything that's in their portfolio," said Corey Cohen, director of marketing for Chicago-based TBI.

[Related: CRN Exclusive: TBI Taps 35-Year Telecom Veteran To Lead Engineering Efforts]

Specifically, partners have been looking for help with social media and the contents of their websites, which may need a refresh, Cohen said. While TBI can help on an individual basis, the master agent wanted to offer a more scalable marketing solution for partners.

PMC will take the TBI marketing team -- eight women strong -- and place them into the partner's office, she said.

"Basically, partners have access to a copywriter, a graphic designer, a digital marketer and a strategist, all in one place because we upload prepopulated content which [solution providers] can edit, swap out images and colors, for both agnostic and vendor campaigns, which can be sent to their list of contacts," Cohen said.

To start, TBI partners can set up their company's profile on the platform. From there, co-branding assets will be automatically updated with the partner's logo and contact info. Solution providers can send their marketing campaigns to their contact lists, which are completely private and only accessible to the partner. Using the platform, email campaigns, flyers, landing pages and social media posts can be easily created and generated, and partners will have access to professional graphics for their campaigns, TBI said.

The marketing platform will also offer a CRM capability for lead tracking, as well as reporting and analytics so partners can keep track of their campaign's performance.

PMC will be helpful for small shops that may not have any employees dedicated to marketing efforts, or for those that have a marketing department that may need help with content, said Rachel Bruce, senior digital marketing manager for TBI.

"Even that larger-scale partner can take that content we're creating and transition it and send it out to their own customers or prospects," Bruce said.

Partners pivoting their businesses are busy getting up to speed with new technologies, identifying the right vendors to work with, and training their staff. Marketing is an important way that solution providers can show their revamped portfolios and keep an eye on the metrics around their new efforts, she said.

"PMC gives sales partners a place to do prospecting and retention all in one place without having to make an investment."