Your pipeline has been slowing, your leads are stale, and you need to demonstrate adequate performance by the end of the quarter. You envision a compelling campaign to attract new prospects, the problem is, your marketing budget is tied up until the next quarter, and you are unsure how to approach your vendor for assistance.
Sound familiar?
Whether the goal is to reach a certain status in a channel partner program, or simply just meet a vendor’s requirements for the quarter, value-added resellers are often under pressure to keep their pipelines full. This pressure is exacerbated when marketing budgets are tight.
An often under-utilised solution for running lead generation campaigns is to apply for vendor or distributor marketing funds. Some partners do not capitalise on this opportunity because market development fund (MDF) programs can be difficult to navigate, or they’re unaware they exist. Others don’t apply for funding simply because they don’t have the time or experience to pitch a campaign idea and execute it.
While applying for funds can seem daunting or time-consuming, here are four things you should know:
- Vendors want you to use the funds you’ve accrued or are eligible for; they want you to build a pipeline for their products.
- Some vendors will fund up to 100 per cent of the cost of running pipeline generation campaign.
- Most vendors score partners higher in business reviews if they invest in professional lead generation and marketing campaigns.
- You will build a more competitive and profitable business if you invest in marketing and lead generation on a sustained basis.
Working with a vendor to understand the details of their MDF process is the first step. Once you know what’s required, you can pitch your campaign idea. You will need to demonstrate that your campaign will be aligned to the sales focus, remain on brand, and use best-practice data sources. You also need to set a budget and expected return on investment (ROI).
If you’re already eligible for marketing funds and can provide your vendor with a robust execution plan, your application is likely to be successful.
Once this occurs, you need to communicate effectively with the vendor. A common complaint from vendors is that proof-of-execution paperwork is slow to arrive, which makes it hard to reconcile quarterly activity and keep budgets straight. If the campaign is to be co-funded, you need to provide evidence of invoices and activities that you’ve paid for. Detailed campaign reporting is vital, so that your vendor knows you’ve followed up leads and whether you gained any learnings from the campaign.
Since gathering all the right paperwork, let alone executing the campaign itself, is a time-consuming endeavour, it’s understandable that resellers don’t apply for vendor funds more often. Given the potential ROI in terms of the business boost this effort can deliver, it is definitely something to consider.
At Outsource, we work alongside vendors, distributors and resellers every day to create and execute a range of marketing and lead generation activities. Our in-house specialists, including specialist B2B IT writers, designers and digital marketers, help resellers apply for vendor funds, plan and execute best-practice campaigns and report back on campaign success.
If you need help applying for vendor funds or executing a campaign, our ‘Fund My Growth’ solution can help. Click here to access a detailed services brochure and learn more.
