1. Purpose
First and foremost, you need to consider what purpose your mobile app will serve. In other words, what problem is it going to solve for mobile users? In order to be successful, your app must provide users with a clear and enticing reason to engage with it. In order to identify the main purpose your mobile app will serve, it is useful to consider the four primary areas that drive mobile and tablet use, and how your app fits into these contexts:

Distraction: Whether browsing on the bus or playing to pass the time, periods of waiting or boredom have many of us reaching straight for our mobile devices. Apps that are simple to use, easy to dip in and out of, and provide instant gratification are ideal for this audience.
Location: By definition, mobile devices are designed for use on the go. With a wide range of proximity tools giving users access to customised location-based information, there is huge potential for apps that effectively tap into the geographical marketing trend.
Enhancement: Lightweight, hand-held mobile devices make multitasking easier than ever – and content that enhances the primary activity (e.g. supplementary information on the TV show or sports match you’re watching) is highly popular with mobile users.
Need Fulfilment: The most successful mobile apps tend to be those that satisfy a particular need better than any other app on the market, even if the need in question is something as arbitrary as providing directions or booking movie tickets.

2. Audience
As with any marketing strategy, knowing who your target audience is and identifying the triggers that cause them to respond is vital in ensuring effective communication and engagement. Arm yourself with as much information as possible about the users your app will be targeting and understand the types of content/features they’re currently engaging with.

Remember too that the target audience of your app will be restricted to customers with internet-enabled mobile devices, so your key demographic is likely to be much narrower than when undertaking more general marketing activities.

3. Goals
Clearly outline your objectives from the start, ensuring the goals you hope to reach with your mobile app are well-defined, measurable and achievable. Try to be as specific as possible, both in terms of the goals themselves and the steps you need to take to achieve them.

As important as defining your objectives is identifying how you will measure the results of your mobile app. Consider what you need to be measuring and tracking, as well as how these elements will be measured, e.g. third party tracking systems or integrated measuring systems within the app.

4. Integration
Some of the most popular apps of recent years have been those that make the most of particular features of a mobile device – often in a unique or quirky way – to provide a fully integrated user experience. From in-built cameras and GPS capabilities to movement-sensing accelerometers that detect changes in the orientation of the device, the long list of mobile-specific features means there is great potential for apps to effectively leverage these abilities and deliver a highly engaging and interactive experience for mobile users.

5. Apps vs. Mobile Sites
A mobile website (or M-web) is a simple way to deliver content to mobile users, either by featuring the same content as your existing website in a way that is adapted for mobile devices, or by enabling a streamlined experience that is more appropriate to mobile users.

Before investing time and money into the development of a mobile app, you need to be certain that it is an app – rather than a mobile website – that is most appropriate for what you’re trying to achieve. For example, if you’re not integrating mobile-specific features into your app (see previous point), a mobile site may be more suitable.

Also bear in mind that a mobile app is not a particularly cheap marketing channel. While development prices vary greatly from agency to agency, full-service development of your app may well cost upwards of $20,000. You therefore need to consider whether this investment is justified and what your predicted ROI will be. Mobile sites, on the other hand, are a relatively inexpensive alternative.

6. User Journey
In order to ensure your mobile app is serving its purpose effectively, you need to establish what part of the user or customer journey your app is targeting, and how it will assist users in this context. Is your mobile app designed to drive customers towards a purchasing decision? Or does it have the purpose of raising awareness about your brand or a particular product?

Identify where in the sales/marketing cycle your app fits in and make sure it provides users with the relevant information to have the desired effect.

7. Platforms and Distribution
With a wide range of mobile devices and operating systems available – Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android being the two biggest – you need to be aware of which platforms will be most effective for your mobile app. Consider which of these platforms your target audience is most associated with and decide whether it is necessary to launch your app across multiple mobile platforms or focus on the one that is most appropriate for your objectives.

Also consider how you’re going to distribute and promote your mobile app on the platforms you choose. Take every opportunity to drive people to your app, including promotion on your website, social media pages and email marketing. Be sure to outline the benefits of your app, and consider other channels such as online videos in order to clearly demonstrate your app’s features and functionality.

Has your business used a mobile app as a marketing channel? How effective do you think mobile apps are in engaging with your target audience and promoting your brand? Share your thoughts with the MIH community by leaving your comments below…

Are your sales and marketing departments engaged in a constant battle of opposing views and objectives? How do you ensure the right balance is struck between ‘brand and demand’? Share your thoughts with the MIH community by leaving your comments below…

If you haven’t yet registered your chosen domain name…
You’ve come up with the perfect domain name. It’s catchy, it rolls of the tongue and it perfectly encapsulates your business. So off you go to register it….and perfectdomainname.com is already taken. What now? Is it a simple case of using an alternative suffix (.com.au, .net etc.)? Or could using a similar domain name to another company pose a much more serious threat to your brand?

Purchasing a ‘parked’ domain name
First and foremost, take a look at the domain itself to see whether it’s ‘in use’ (i.e. an actual, live website) or ‘parked’ (the domain name is reserved, but is not being used yet). If it’s the latter, then you may be able to purchase the domain name from the owner – use a look-up service such as WhoIs (www.whois.net) to find the owner details and make an offer.

Use a variation of your chosen domain name
If there’s unlikely to be a conflict of interest in terms of business type with your .com counterpart, you may decide to go down the alternative suffix route (registering the .com.au, .net, .biz etc. equivalents of the same domain name). Similarly, you may choose to find a related domain name, e.g. one involving a hyphen or an abbreviation of your original name choice, and register that as a .com.

However, it is important to take a good look at the website/business in question before going ahead with a variation of your chosen domain name. Bear in mind that many consumers will automatically type in the .com version of the domain name first – even if there is no conflict of interest surrounding the nature of the businesses, are you happy for your brand to be in any way associated with the website that appears on screen?

N.B. If the owner of the registered .com domain name believes their business is threatened by you registering the same or a similar name, they may request you stop using it. To take legal action, the registrant will have to prove they have rights or legitimate interests in the domain name and/or you have registered the name in bad faith.

Choose a different domain name entirely
If you haven’t yet registered the domain name as a business name, you may want to simply choose an alternative domain name. While you may have been thrilled with your original choice, there’s sure to be an equally good name that is available as both a domain name and a business name, so go back to the drawing board and get to work finding another winning name.

If somebody registers a similar domain name to your own…

What happens if you’ve been running your business under your chosen domain name for a period of time, then all of a sudden, you discover that somebody has registered a similar domain name (perhaps using a different suffix – .biz, .org etc. – or with a slight variation such as a hyphen or an abbreviation)? Are you entitled to take action in order to protect your business?

Don’t ignore it!
Firstly, be aware that a company or business using a very similar domain name to your own can pose a very serious threat to your brand.

If the other party is a competitor or in any way related to your field or industry, you could be at risk of potential customers ending up on that website instead of your own. This could either result in the customer choosing to use the rival company’s services or, if the rival company is inferior to your business (in terms of their offering and/or their website), your brand could suffer considerable damage as a result of customers confusing the two businesses. Over time, this damage will only become more serious and eventually irrevocable.

Another potential threat to the integrity of your brand can arise if the other party has a website featuring explicit or unsavoury content which you do not want associated with your business. In the fast-paced, quick-decision environment of the internet, users form judgements in a matter of seconds – questionable content appearing when the user believes they have clicked through to your website could be all it takes for that user to go elsewhere – not to mention forming a negative opinion about your brand.

Contact the domain name owner
Using a look-up service like Whois (www.whois.net), you should be able to find the details of the domain name owner, including their contact information. If you’re concerned about the impact of their domain name on your established brand, it is advisable to begin by flagging the issue with them in order to explain your position and request they cease from using the domain name (you may want to offer to purchase the domain name from them directly).

Make a legal claim
If you believe the presence of the similar domain name poses a serious threat to your business, taking legal action may be the best means of resolving the issue. If the website of the other registrant features questionable/explicit content – or they have registered the domain name with the intent to damage your business – legal action should be taken immediately to minimise the damage.

If you’ve already registered the business name, you will generally have the right to take legal action against the domain name registrant. In trademark law, the owner of that trademark is considered to be the first person to use that trademark in commerce – so if you’ve been using the name to market your products/services prior to the other party using it as a domain name, you may be able to prevent the domain name registrant from continuing to use it for their website.

Australian law is continually being updated to keep up with the changing nature of business-related disputes, with a number of options available to those who find themselves under threat as a result of a domain name dispute.

Have you ever encountered a ‘domain name dilemma’ of your own? How important do you think a domain name is to a business? Get in touch and share your thoughts with the MIH community. Leave your comments below…

There’s been a distinct shift in marketing focus – from brand awareness to demand generation – in both B2B and direct environments; we’ve read about it and experienced it first-hand through our customers. Bottom line, marketing is expected to bring in leads and generate revenue. And in a difficult economic environment – quickly.

The care and attention you apply to your market data: what you know about your potential new customers, who and where they are, what business challenges and market opportunities they have, how they prefer to be communicated to and how often, correlates directly to the likely success of your next B2B marketing campaign.

Only last week I heard a story of a telemarketer who asked for a person who had died seven years ago. How is that even possible I can hear you asking? Although data quality issues like this happen from time to time when you rent data, this example came from a company internal list – inexcusable. The list was obviously neglected, but why would this record not be updated in 7 years? It would not be unreasonable to assume that the company using this database wastes time and money sending out messages that are undelivered or thrown away.

Current market data – your greatest asset

A typical B2B lead generation strategy involves gathering contacts across a range of marketing channels, via a range of activities at different times. The result? Loads of information about current or potential customers: the market data – your greatest asset and a potential goldmine. Or is it?

Contact data is only valuable when it is complete and up-to-date and like any piece of business equipment, it needs to be maintained. As I already mentioned, a regular tune could save your business time and money. Still not convinced? Consider these three facts (consistently proven through every campaign we run at Make It Happen).

Three facts about the relationship between quality data and marketing success

1. Regardless of the channel you use, a marketing campaign based on accurate data is always more successful than one based on out-of-date or incomplete data. No-one wants to be spending time mid campaign updating records.
2. Data dates quickly – unless you have a dedicated database manager in-house, a DIY update can take a very long time and cost your business in lost revenue.
3. Invest in a database update before the campaign starts and both sales and marketing will benefit through an increase in email marketing opt-ins, lower costs, and referral to key contacts who can improve the sales conversion potential.
Of course accurate data is the essential first step. Stay tuned for more about data profiling and high value B2B campaigns in a later blog.

If you have a story to share about out-of-date database records, we’d love to hear it. Just leave your comments below.

Step One: Gathering Information

The first step in the web design process involves collecting information about your business. It is vital for a web designer to have a comprehensive understanding of the specifics of your organisation to ensure the resulting website is right for your particular needs and objectives.

Before starting on your site, we’ll ask questions such as:

- What is the aim/purpose of the website? What messages do you want it to convey?
- What do you want the website to achieve?
- Who is the target audience of the website and what trigger factors are this demographic likely to respond to?
- What type of content/information do you want to feature on the website?

Step Two: Planning and Site Map Development

Next, we’ll develop a plan for your website based on the information you’ve provided us with, as well as developing a site map. We’ll discuss with you which elements/technologies you want included on your site, offering advice on what we feel will work best.

Your site map outlines each webpage to be included on your website and where it will sit within the site. The site map shows how various topics are connected and will give you an idea of how users will navigate around your website.

Step Three: Designing Your Site

We can now begin designing the look and feel of your website. We’ll craft your site design around the requirements, goals and target audience identified in the information gathering stage, ensuring the design is appropriate to the site’s purpose and objectives. Your site design will be informed by the identity of your company, incorporating elements such as your logo and corporate colour scheme – this will ensure your website is consistent with the rest of your branding and easily recognisable as part of your organisation by your audience.

We’ll usually create a number of design options in order for you to select your preferred design, as well as giving you access to a ‘work in progress’ area of your site so you can get a feel for how it will look and navigate. Your feedback is essential for us to create a website that best suits your business, so we encourage you to share your likes and dislikes at every stage of the design process.

Step Four: Website Development and Testing

This stage involves the programming/coding needed to create the website and its various elements, as well as the loading of content.

Each webpage will be developed and specific technologies, such as ecommerce shopping carts, interactive elements and flash animations, are added and tested for functionality. We’ll then load all the content for your website, ensuring it is added exactly as it appears in the provided format.

During the development stage, we’ll continuously test the site for functionality, making sure that everything works correctly and correcting any problems such as broken links, incorrect coding or cross-browser compatibility issues. Throughout the process, you’ll be able to access the ‘work in progress’ site to keep up-to-date with the developments made to your website.

Step Five: Delivery

Once the entire website has been carefully checked and tested, we’ll ask for your final approval so we can deliver your site. We’ll then upload the website to your server and perform one final run-through to ensure that all files have been uploaded correctly.

Your website is now officially ‘live’!

Step Six: Maintenance

While some clients prefer to update their own website content using a CMS (content management system), we are always happy to continue working with you on the ongoing aspects of your site.

We can work with you to maintain your website, adding new content as and when necessary, making amendments to existing content if required and introducing additional features to your site. Updating your website on a regular basis is important in providing your audience with fresh and relevant material, as well as keeping the information contained on the site up-to-date and reflective of your business.

Website maintenance is often required to introduce new features which you may not have chosen to incorporate at the start of the web design process. For example, you may decide at a later stage to introduce SEO (search engine optimisation) or professional website copywriting to improve your site – we can assist you in implementing these steps and updating your website accordingly.

So there you have it – the MIH web design process revealed. Now we’d like to hear from you on what you think makes a good website – is it the design, the content, the ease-of-use. or something else? Get in touch and share your opinions with the MIH community – leave your comments below.

6) Get With The Crowd
If 2011 was the year of user-generated content, then 2012 looks set to be the year of crowd-generated content. Proving that ‘people power’ is as strong as ever – and perhaps at its most formidable in the digital world – businesses are becoming increasingly aware that their brand is judged not by what they’re telling people, but what people are telling others about their brand. The idea behind crowd-generated content is to identify those people that are talking about your brand online and act on this in a way that encourages other people to get involved, thus creating a crowd of consumers all talking about your business.

Social media platform Twitter is a great way of identifying who is saying what about your business (or, if not your business itself, the field in which it lies). By engaging with people who are talking about your brand or industry, creating a marketing story around their comments and encouraging more people to join the conversation, you can quickly build a successful campaign around a single tweet.

7) Make It Personal
Tying in with the trends of location-based marketing and social commerce (discussed in Part 1 of our Top Ten), it’s abundantly clear that today’s digital consumer demands a far more personalised online experience than ever before. Users increasingly expect their online content to be tailored to their preferences and customised to the choices and behaviour they have indicated or displayed previously. What’s more, (perhaps unsurprisingly) online consumers show a far greater tendency towards products, businesses or online content they see their friends recommending online.

So what does this mean for a small or medium-sized business? Leveraging what you already know about your customers and making every effort to provide individual consumers with a personalised online service is essential. Email marketing is another area where customisation is key, so be sure to tailor content and messaging to different customer groups for a greater response rate.

8 ) Game Time
Digital platforms provide the opportunity for much greater levels of user interaction between businesses and customers. As websites and online communities strive to create a digital world which increasingly mirrors our real lives, the role of fun, amusing and entertaining content which users can interact with directly is growing in importance – and with mobile internet enabling people to be ‘connected’ 24/7, the concept of marketing that doubles as light relief is surely welcome. In 2012, we are likely to see many more businesses introducing online games and competitions to their marketing campaigns, with a particular focus on mobile and location-based gaming.

By online gaming, we’re not talking video games or online gambling. Short, simple yet creative games and competitions that engage users and get people talking are likely to enjoy the most success. Consider the brand message that you want to promote through the use of an online game or competition, and find a way to communicate this in an enjoyable and interactional user experience.

9) Online and Offline As One
As more and more consumers move seamlessly between the offline and online world, to view these two platforms as entirely separate seems increasingly out-dated. While the rapid rise of the Internet in recent years has led to many businesses steering away from traditional offline marketing methods in favour of the digital, it appears we may have reached a point where we can finally recognise the complementary aspects of these two approaches. Perhaps the most successful marketing campaigns of 2012 will be those that combine and integrate digital and real-life elements in much the same way as the majority of us do on a daily basis.

Integration in marketing is nothing new, but developments in online marketing make it increasingly easier for businesses to develop engaging campaigns that successfully blend online and offline elements to great effect. Marketing strategies should explore and identify ways to combine the digital with the traditional in order to create campaigns that span both platforms.

10) Content Is Still King
As the number of online marketing channels continues to grow and businesses expand their digital presence to cover ever more platforms, it is vital to ensure that you do not let the quality of your content slip. With more content than ever being posted, tweeted, blogged and shared, it becomes harder and harder for consumers to find high-quality, relevant information through the constant stream of digital noise. But rest assured that in the end, they will find it – and when they do, you have a much greater chance of gaining the respect (and associated digital word of mouth) that comes from being a provider of that sought-after quality content.

Ensure that every piece of content that comes from your brand is of the appropriate standard and quality you would demand from your offline written materials. Implement careful monitoring of all social media profiles and make sure that all employees involved in digital marketing content creation are aware of the need for quality content that reflects your brand.

So there you have it – our top ten digital marketing trends for 2012. Which ones will you be following this year? If you’d like to share any other online marketing trends with us, we’d love to hear from you, so leave your comments below…

There’s no doubting that the opportunities for online conversation are multiple and diverse. And we now have increasingly sophisticated analytics tools ready to dissect these conversations and guide business decisions.

In some circumstances, wouldn’t it be faster and easier to just pick up the phone?

Of course we’re not talking about the dinner-time call about changing your phone provider or taking up a free holiday offer.

It’s the type of conversation where you’ve spent time preparing your database carefully, and can find out in a matter of minutes whether a prospective customer would be interested in your product or service. Issues discussed, needs defined, and qualified lead ready to hand over in as little as ten minutes. Or a customer survey where you need a high response rate and more than a Yes/No answer. When the quality of the conversation matters – not just the quantity of calls.

Now is a very exciting time for marketers, with a significant increase in the availability of low-cost marketing channels and automation tools. Some businesses are finding it more appropriate to do the majority of business online. Others are using online to enhance their other marketing activities. No-one can tell you exactly what mix will work best. We just say, when selecting your marketing channels – before, during or after your campaign – don’t forget the telephone.

Here are five reasons to integrate a quality telephone conversation into your next marketing campaign:
1. You’ve been asked to deliver sales leads within a short timeframe
2. You invested in building a database but haven’t invested in keeping it updated – the value of this business asset is diminishing
3. You’re missing vital information about your contacts so can’t target your marketing
4. Response rates to your latest online marketing campaign were lower than expected and you don’t know why
5. You want to build a closer relationship with prospective customers and be there when they’re ready to make a purchase decision.

When you need to have a conversation with your contacts, do you choose online or phone for your business? Or both? Let us know what you think – we’d love to hear your opinion.

Having bid farewell to 2011 and welcomed in the new year, here at MIH we’re keen to make 2012 our best year yet. To help you do the same, we’ve been busy researching the online marketing trends that we predict will be making waves in the coming year. The result is our top ten digital marketing trends for 2012, complete with handy hints and tips on how even the smallest of businesses can incorporate these trends into their marketing strategy. Happy New Year from all at MIH and here’s to even more marketing success in 2012!

1) Social Media For All

Love it or hate it, social media looks set to stay (for the foreseeable future, anyhow). And while the blind acceptance of social media (link to ‘The Reality of Social Media’ blog post) as the be-all-and-end-all for every marketing strategy is certainly not the way forward, there is no getting away from the fact that even the most technophobic among us need to be prepared to get with the social media program. Last year, a staggering number of companies large and small implemented or stepped up their social media marketing; in 2012, it’s safe to say that yet more businesses – and SMBs in particular – will take the plunge into social – and those who don’t are likely to be left far behind their competitors who do.

Paramount to the success of any foray into social media marketing is to plan ahead, do your research and set clear, measurable goals for what you want to achieve. Above all, be sure to integrate your social media into the rest of your marketing strategy rather than seeing it as a separate entity. Finally, for social marketing to be successful in the long-term, it cannot be seen as a ‘set it up and let it run’ type of activity; far from it. Before implementing any kind of social media strategy, be prepared that it will require regular attention and updating on your part, so it is vital that this involvement is allowed for from the start.

2) Look Out For Location

Location-based marketing became big business in 2011 and shows no signs of slowing down this year. Companies quickly realised the effectiveness of highly-targeted marketing based on the geographical location of their audience and set about devising increasingly innovative ways of attracting consumer attention. From ads on your iPad by your local coffee chain to finding a restaurant on your mobile in an unknown city, your location is playing an ever-greater part in your consumer preferences and behaviour – and local businesses will continue to tap into this in 2012.

While digital advertisements on mainstream platforms may not be a viable option for smaller businesses, there are many other ways of harnessing the power of location-based marketing. First and foremost, you need to be visible to customer searches (according to Google, about one-third of mobile searches have local intent), so register with important location-based services such as Google Places. Market your company on location marketing platforms such as Foursquare and Facebook Places, and actively encourage customers to ‘check-in’ in order to promote your business. Targeting offers and promotions to consumers based on their location can be a highly effective way of tapping into the local market, and can act as a further incentive for customers to digitally promote your business.

3) The World Goes Mobile

This one almost goes without saying (and is made all the more obvious based on the last point), but it’s still worth mentioning the importance of mobile marketing in the coming year. The rapid increase in the use of internet-enabled mobile devices (iPhones, Blackberries, iPads etc.) means more and more people are accessing information on the go, so incorporating mobile into your marketing strategy is an important consideration to ensure your business isn’t overlooked.

Having a mobile version of your website is a good starting point, as mobile users have a different set of requirements in terms of website browsing (less content-heavy, fewer click-through buttons, ‘click-to-call’ functionality etc.). Mobile marketing enables the use of a vast array of mobile-specific marketing features which can be used to engage and attract consumers – from mobile-based purchasing and special offers to SMS marketing and targeting by location, decide which aspects are most appropriate for your business (and your customers) and, as with any new marketing strategy, plan sufficiently before ploughing ahead.

4) Social Media Spreads Out

Up until now, the responsibility for an organisation’s social media has generally lain with a single department or even just one person. The trend for 2012, however, is likely to be the decentralisation or ‘dispersement’ of social media control, meaning that responsibility for creating and updating social media content will be spread throughout an organisation, with greater input from employees across the company. This integration of social media stems from the acceptance that customers want to hear from real people, not brands or marketers.

Of course, relinquishing control of your social media and passing responsibility from the marketing experts to John in Accounts does not come without risk. However, this kind of shift brings with it the perfect opportunity to ensure every member of staff within your organisation understands what social marketing means and how your brand needs to be represented. Issue guidelines on the kind of content that is acceptable and implement careful monitoring of all platforms to ensure a consistent message.

5) The Rise of Social Commerce

As increasingly tech-savvy consumers choose internet shopping over hitting the streets, this year is certain to see more and more businesses make the move to an online store. However, there’s another important shift in the online shopping environment which is likely to have major implications on how retailers conduct their online sales. Social commerce combines online shopping with the user-sharing ability of social networking sites to provide ‘social shopping’ in a digital context. Think targeting products to consumers based on their Facebook ‘likes’, user-generated ratings and blog post reviews, all brought together to greatly enhance the online retail experience.

The predicted explosion of social commerce further illustrates the imperative need for businesses to create a strong social media presence and leverage their existing customer knowledge in order to provide an increasingly personalised online experience. Encouraging your customers to act as brand advocates by sharing their views and recommendations online is also vital, and, as always, is more likely to occur through the provision of clear incentives for doing so.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Top Ten Digital Marketing Trends for 2012. In the meantime, why not get in touch and let us know what trends you’re predicting for this year? Leave your comments below…

Gail Hopkins, Managing Director, Make It Happen

2011 has been a tough year for many people around the world, with floods, earthquakes, a tsunami and personal hardships resulting from ongoing economic challenges. This year our business has faced challenges as well – but we are committed to giving back to the community. Helping others is important to everyone at Make It Happen.

For the eighth consecutive year, we’re supporting the Guide Dogs of NSW. There are so many worthy charities and we support lots of them – but this one holds a special place with us.

My family has enjoyed the unconditional love of a golden retriever for 8 years. We appreciate the enormous difference a dog can make in the life of someone living without sight or with a disability. The amazing thing about the Guide Dogs is that every puppy they train will either graduate as a guide dog or a companion dog….and I know what great companions the breeds can be.

Over the past eight years we’ve all enjoyed the photos, ‘paintings’ and messages we receive from the puppies and their trainers. They’ve really made us feel like part of the family, we’ve seen the puppies grow and we’ve been advised when they graduate.

The reason we keep supporting this incredible organisation is that year after year, they bring independence to people who cannot navigate safely in the world or feel secure without their dog.

We hope that our contribution helps the Guide Dogs of NSW continue their work and look forward to continuing our association.

http://www.guidedogs.com.au/

Step One: Educate
The successful communication of your key messages by your channel partners is essential in maintaining the equilibrium of your brand and ensuring a consistent brand image to your audience. To be able to effectively communicate these messages and promote your brand’s products or services most effectively, your channel partner needs to have a solid understanding of your business, both in terms of core concepts and offerings. To facilitate this understanding, you need to provide your channel partner with as many marketing support assets as possible so they are adequately equipped with the information they require.

Tips

• - Establish a channel portal providing readily available information on your brand, processes and procedures.
• - Provide initial training for your channel partner on key areas of your business, e.g. products, services, brand messages, positioning, technical aspects etc.

Step Two: Enable
Once you’ve taken the necessary steps to ensure your channel partner is educated on your brand to the required level, you need to enable the channel to perform its role of increasing the reach of your products and services, without the need for you to be constantly involved. Over and above the initial education of the channel, enablement means providing ongoing, carefully structured support that delivers clear and relevant information to the channel.

Tips:

• - Set up workshops – either online or classroom style – designed to pass responsibility for a topic/area to the channel, e.g. a marketing workshop which addresses brand guidelines, channel marketing tools and approval processes.
• - Provide packaged support materials in easily-accessible formats, such as web-based resources (portals, regular eDMs, landing pages), printed materials and DVDs.

Step Three: Measure/Reward
As with any marketing activity, effective measurement of performance over time is essential. Furthermore, recognising and rewarding achievement helps maintain focus on goals, improves morale and creates a better working environment. It is vital to establish clear and targeted reporting methods from the beginning, as well as regularly reviewing your processes to ensure goals are being met.

Tips:

• - Establish lead registration and sales conversion portals. Clear and consolidated views of opportunities by partner by geography can be a powerful dashboard for channel performance.
• - Provide channel throughput rewards based on revenue status updated on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis, depending on how your channel success is measured.
• - Set up online surveys which work both ways, i.e. to obtain your channel’s view of you and vice versa, and provide consolidated feedback on areas requiring improvement.