Author: Olivia

How to create a memorable reseller marketing campaign

How to create a memorable reseller marketing campaign

As a reseller in today’s competitive market, creating marketing campaigns that stand out and leave a lasting impression on your target audience is more critical than ever.

Memorable campaigns not only help you attract new customers but also foster brand loyalty and drive long-term success for your business.

But what exactly makes a marketing campaign memorable? While there’s no one-size-fits-all formula, several key elements can help your campaigns resonate with your audience and achieve your desired results.

In this blog, we’ll dive into each of these elements and provide practical tips and examples to help you create marketing campaigns that make a lasting impact. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just starting out, these strategies will help you take your reseller marketing efforts to the next level and drive more sales and growth for your business.

Define your target audience

A deep understanding of your target audience is the foundation of any successful marketing campaign. Without knowing who you’re trying to reach and what motivates them, your campaigns are likely to fall flat or miss the mark entirely.

The first step in defining your target audience is to identify your ideal customers.

Who are the people most likely to buy your products or services?

What are their demographics (age, gender, location, income level, etc)?

What are their interests and behaviours?

The more specific you can be, the better.

One helpful exercise is to create buyer personas – fictional representations of your ideal customers based on actual data and research. Giving your target audience a name, face and backstory can help you better understand their needs, preferences and pain points, and tailor your marketing messages accordingly.

To gather the information you need to create accurate buyer personas, start by analysing your existing customer data. Look for common characteristics and patterns among your best customers. Consider reaching out to them directly for feedback and insights.

You can also conduct market research to learn more about your target audience. This might include online surveys, focus groups or interviews with potential customers. Pay attention to the language they use to describe their challenges and goals, as well as the channels and sources they turn to for information and advice.

As you develop your buyer personas, consider creating separate personas for different segments of your audience. For example, you might have one persona for small business owners and another for enterprise decision-makers, each with their own unique needs and preferences.

Once you have a clear picture of your target audience, use this information to guide every aspect of your reseller marketing campaign. From the channels you choose to the content you create to the offers you promote, everything should be tailored to the specific needs and interests of your ideal customer.

Communicate your unique selling proposition (USP)

Your USP is the key benefit or advantage that you offer that no one else can match.

To identify your USP, start by analysing your products or services in detail. What features or benefits do they offer that are truly unique or different from what’s already available on the market? This could be anything from proprietary technology to a personalised customer experience or a more affordable price point.

As you brainstorm potential USPs, focus on the aspects of your offering that are most relevant and valuable to your target audience.

Remember, your USP should directly address the needs, preferences and pain points you identified when creating your buyer personas.

Once you’ve identified your USP, the next challenge is communicating it clearly and concisely to your target audience. Your USP should be easy to understand and remember, even for someone who’s not familiar with your brand or industry.

To craft a compelling USP statement, start with a simple formula: Our [product/service] helps [target audience] achieve [benefit] by [unique differentiator]. For example, Our cloud-based accounting software helps small business owners save time and money by automating invoicing and expense tracking.

As you develop your USP, keep in mind that it should be more than just a catchy slogan or tagline. It should be a fundamental part of your brand identity and value proposition, guiding everything from your product development to your customer service and reseller marketing campaigns.

When it comes to incorporating your USP into your campaign messaging, consistency is key. Make sure your USP is prominently featured in all your marketing materials, from your website and social media profiles to your email campaigns and advertising copy.

Use your USP as a framework for highlighting the specific benefits and advantages of your products or services, and tie those benefits back to the needs and goals of your target audience. The more you can show how your USP directly addresses their challenges and aspirations, the more memorable and effective your campaigns will be.

Developing a strong USP takes time and effort, but it’s one of the most important investments you can make in your reseller marketing strategy.

Choose the right marketing channels

With a clear target audience and USP in mind, the next step is to choose the marketing channels that will be most effective for reaching and engaging your ideal customers. In today’s digital age, there are countless channels to choose from – from social media and email marketing to content marketing and paid advertising – and it can be tempting to try to be everywhere at once.

However, the key to a successful reseller marketing campaign is not necessarily to use as many channels as possible, but rather to select the channels that are most likely to resonate with your specific target audience. This means taking the time to research and understand where your ideal customers spend their time online, what types of content they engage with, and what influences their purchasing decisions.

Start by looking at the demographic data you gathered when defining your target audience.

What social media platforms do they use most frequently?

Do they prefer to consume content from blog posts, emails, videos or podcasts?

Are they more likely to respond to email promotions or targeted advertising?

Once you have a sense of the channels your target audience is most active on, consider which channels are most likely to support your specific campaign goals. For example, if your goal is to generate leads and drive website traffic, you might focus on driving visitors to a sales landing page using email. If your goal is to build brand awareness and engagement, you might prioritise social media posts and content marketing.

As you select your marketing channels, keep in mind that it’s often more effective to focus on a few key channels and do them well, rather than spreading yourself too thin across too many channels.

Once you’ve selected your channels, the next step is to adapt your messaging and creative for each one. While your USP and overall campaign theme should remain consistent across all channels, the specific tactics and formats you use may vary depending on the platform and audience.

For example, on social media, you might focus on creating short, ‘snackable’ content that’s easy to share and engage with, such as images, videos and infographics.

On your website or blog, you might create longer-form content that provides more in-depth information and value to your target audience.

In your reseller email campaigns, you might focus on personalised, targeted messages that speak directly to the needs and interests of each recipient.

Ultimately, the key to choosing the right marketing channels is to stay focused on your target audience and campaign goals, and to continually test and optimise your approach based on data and feedback. Selecting channels that align with your audience’s preferences and behaviours, and adapting your messaging and creative accordingly helps your campaigns stand out, resonate and drive actual results for your reseller business.

Create compelling content

Compelling content that engages, informs and inspires your target audience lies at the heart of any memorable reseller marketing campaign.

Whether you’re creating blog posts, videos, social media updates or email newsletters, your content should be carefully crafted to align with your campaign goals and provide real value to your readers.

The first step in creating compelling content is to develop a content strategy that supports your overall campaign objectives. This means identifying the key themes, messages and calls-to-action that you want to convey through your content and mapping out a plan for how and when you’ll deliver that content to your audience.

As you develop your content strategy, consider using a variety of formats to keep things interesting and engaging for your audience.

While blog posts and articles are an excellent foundation for any content marketing plan, don’t be afraid to mix things up with videos, infographics, podcasts or interactive content like quizzes and polls.

One way to streamline your content creation process and ensure consistency across all your marketing materials is to use an asset library and pre-built templates.

Starting with a set of approved images, graphics and design elements, you can create content that aligns with your brand identity and messaging without having to start from scratch each time.

When creating templates or choosing assets from a library, look for options that are flexible and customisable so you can adapt them to fit your specific campaign needs and goals. And be sure to take advantage of any tools or resources provided by your vendor partner to ensure that your content meets their branding and quality standards.

Ultimately, the key to creating compelling content is to focus on providing value to your target audience.

Every piece of content or marketing collateral you create – digital or otherwise – should be relevant to their needs, interests and pain points, and should offer some kind of insight, advice or solution that they can’t get elsewhere.

Use eye-catching visuals

Incorporating eye-catching visuals into your reseller marketing campaigns is more important than ever in today’s fast-paced, visually-driven digital landscape.

Whether you’re creating social media posts, email newsletters or website banners, strong visual content can help your messages stand out, grab attention, and communicate your brand identity.

The first step in using visuals effectively is to select high-quality images and videos that align with your brand and campaign goals.

This means choosing visuals that aren’t only aesthetically appealing but also relevant to your target audience and the messages you want to convey.

When selecting images, look for options that are clear, crisp and well-lit, with a focus on the key elements you want to highlight. If you’re using stock photos or assets, be sure to choose images that look authentic and natural rather than overly posed or generic.

As you incorporate visuals into your content and creative, be sure to use them strategically to support your overall campaign goals and messaging. For example, if you’re promoting a new product launch, you might use images or videos that showcase the key features and benefits of the product, along with customer testimonials or demonstrations.

When using visuals on social media, pay attention to the specific requirements and best practices for each platform. For example, square images tend to perform well on Instagram, while landscape images are better suited for Twitter and Facebook. Use hashtags and captions to provide context and encourage engagement, and experiment with different formats like carousels and stories to keep things interesting.

Asset libraries like the InControl Portal include images, graphics and other visual content in a range of sizes, styles and formats so you can choose the right visuals for the platforms you’re using. It saves time, hassle, and frustration knowing you can just download and customise the assets you need and that they’re good to go.

Finally, don’t forget to optimise your visuals for different devices and screen sizes. With more and more people accessing content on their smartphones and tablets, it’s vital to ensure that your visuals look great and load quickly on any device.

Offer valuable incentives

One effective way to make your reseller marketing campaigns more memorable and impactful is to offer valuable incentives that motivate your target audience to take action. Whether you’re trying to drive sales, encourage signups or promote a new product or service, the right incentives can be a powerful tool for boosting engagement and conversions.

When planning your incentives, consider using a mix of promotions, discounts and special offers that align with your campaign goals and target audience preferences. For example, if you’re launching a new software product, you might offer a free trial period or a discount on the first year of service to encourage people to give it a try.

As you develop your incentives, keep in mind that the most effective offers are those that create a sense of urgency or scarcity. Setting a time limit on your promotion or limiting the number of available slots taps into people’s natural fear of missing out and encourages them to act quickly.

In addition to creating urgency, it’s essential to ensure that your incentives are relevant and valuable to your target audience. This means taking the time to understand their needs, preferences and pain points, and tailoring your offers accordingly.

When crafting your incentive messaging, be sure to highlight the specific benefits and value that your offer provides. Use clear, concise language that communicates what’s in it for the customer and makes it easy for them to take advantage of the offer by giving clear instructions and a strong call-to-action.

Finally, don’t forget to track and measure the success of your incentives over time. Use analytics and customer feedback to understand which offers are most effective at driving engagement and conversions, and use that data to optimise your approach for future campaigns.

How can inControl Marketing help?

Creating a memorable reseller marketing campaign is no small feat. Following the strategies and best practices outlined in this blog post will set you up for success and drive real results for your business.

While these strategies can be highly effective in driving engagement, conversions, and revenue for your reseller business, it’s important to remember that success rarely happens overnight. Creating a truly memorable and impactful marketing campaign requires continuous testing, learning and adaptation based on data, insights and customer feedback.

Partnering with an expert reseller marketing specialist, like InControl Marketing, can help.

The InControl Reseller Marketing Portal is an all-in-one online platform that supports and boosts reseller marketing activity, enabling stronger, more effective customer connections.

It delivers powerful tools and insights to resellers and vendors, offering a powerful blend of features for efficient marketing. These include a self-serve library with ready-made social media assets, emails and landing pages and easy-to-use tools for creating custom content. We also offer bespoke studio and managed campaign services if you don’t have the time or expertise to create your own.

To find out how our portal can help your business grow, get in touch to book a free, no-obligation demo. We look forward to hearing from you.

BIC Incentive

BIC winners enjoy a night out with Peter Kay

Sovereign, Aston and James, BOS Office, Just Office, and PP Office all thoroughly enjoyed their night out with Peter Kay when he performed the Birmingham leg of his Live Tour tour at Utilita Arena. An overnight stay. 
 
Great to team up with BIC and Product Promotion Services to deliver on this. I’m told he was brilliant and that was just Kristian from BIC!  
BIC incentive

Simple steps to successful emails

Simple steps to successful emails

Get your email in the inbox

First things first – get your domain records sorted – SPF, DKIM and DMARC – if they’re a mystery then just ask, but without the foundations your house will collapse so let’s not waste everyone’s time building a spectacular house that will fall over with the first gust of wind. Please get these done because without them your emails won’t get into the recipients inbox.

Get it opened

All you’ve got to work with is the From Name and the Subject Line

Proven subject lines usually fall into one of the below:

  • Create curiosity – have you seen x, I blame y, why did we hand our x, why we paid…, was this you [[FIRST_NAME]]?
  • Offer a particular benefit – saves time, money, lighter, faster, more, less, get the xxx you want and do it in x days, generate x in y days.
  • A level of scarcity – won’t last much longer, while it lasts, limited, deadline, last chance, you’re about to miss out [[FIRST_NAME]].
  • Focus on the result – it achieved x in y time, helped us achieve y, how to reduce y.

Look to develop some go-to’s that you can reuse time and again.

And if you’re life depended on 50% of people opening this email what would I use as a subject line?

Use emojis and personalisation

From Names

Who you send the email from.

Please not Sales and not info – it’s lazy and bad.

If someone is the face of the business then use their name

Alternatively use a name and company name – ‘Geoff from xyz’ is great (if you’re names Geoff)

Use the Pre Header Text aka Second Subject Line

I can hear you now – what’s that then?

icm pre header texts

It’s simply a little intro piece and it reads far better than something like ‘Having trouble viewing this email’ which is the seeming alternative. Don’t waste it

Avoid the purge

What do you do when you first get out of bed?

Coffee, loo, snooze, mix of all of the above, and check and delete emails?

Timing is key.

Too busy to engage and open emails, so delete, delete, delete.

Send or schedule emails to go after 10.00 and not too late in the evening.

Know your customers.

Engagement is the key

Get it in the inbox, get it opened, get it read, get it engaged with getting click throughs.

Click throughs are leads.

A single Call to Action (CTA) is ok, but four works better.

Use images as links.

More links equals more clicks, and more clicks is more leads.

Use images better

People click on images.

Images set as video image work really well.

Use gifs to spice up the email.

And above all make the email interesting and useful.

Keep your name in front of your customers to stay in their consideration. 

Generate Leads Through Email

Generate Leads Through Email: Tips For Writing Good Sales Emails

We want our marketing read and engaged with…. right?

We all know that breaking through to your target audience when you’re up against everything else that hits their inbox can be tough. The foundation of strong performance with email marketing  is content – from the subject line to the body of your email, you have to be concise and persuasive.

Less is often more in email

Encourage a prospect to open and read your message by making everything about the process easy. A reader shouldn’t have to try to figure out what you mean, and no one wants to read more than one or two short paragraphs  when they open an email. In fact, some experts recommend limiting your message to one or two powerful sentences.

Spend time on your Subject Lines

You should be aiming for the reader to think “Yes, that seems like something I want to know more about.” Avoid gimmicks such as all caps or a row of punctuation, and use a subject line that identifies the content as simply and powerfully as possible. There’s more on Subject Lines here.

Subject lines must be enticing but honest. They should provide an idea of what’s inside, but not give the whole package away. The point of a subject line is to encourage the recipient to self-identify as a relevant reader.

Personalise appropriately

 

Email is a person-to-person communication, so craft messages with that in mind. Put some personality into emails, and whenever possible, put a name and contact information at the bottom. Customise emails with the names of your recipients when possible, but do so appropriately. Most individuals today can tell the difference between a personalised email and a fill-in-the-blank mailer.

Let’s show you how to easily add personalisation to your emails

Create a straightforward, simple Call To Action (CTA)

No matter how creative your subject line is or compelling your content, if you don’t provide instructions for the reader, they can’t become a conversion. Include a CTA in every email, whether you want the reader to click a link, make a phone call, or respond to the message. Make sure the call to action is short and easy to follow – the reader won’t have a lot of time!

Want more on effective CTAs? Click here

The key to Email is Deliverability

Get your emails into the recipients inbox and then get it read and engaged with - what could possibly go wrong?

If you can do this the ROI is unmatched, so you can’t ignore email.

So, here’s what you need to know.

The actual return of your email program is going to be impacted by a number of factors:

You, we, them, we all have a sender reputation that in an ideal world should be cherished, but we all know it’s not an ideal world. Your sender reputation and deliverability are linked. Your sender reputation is determined by domain and IP reputation, as well as your engagement and authentications, and is how ISPs determine how trustworthy you are. 

So send like a spammer and your reputation will diminish along with your deliverability.

It’s a process

1. Keeping bad email addresses out of your email list helps prevent spam traps that could get you blacklisted. Before you upload a list get it verified by a third party checker like Emailable.com. They’ll tell you the naff ones and the ones they see as ‘risky’ and you shouldn’t upload them.   

2. Be very wary of free email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, BT etc.) and job role based email addresses (info@, sales@, accounts@ etc.) If you’ve bought a list and it’s loaded with these then you’ve bought a pup and I wouldn’t touch it with your barge-pole. Saying that using bought in lists is against our Anti Spam Policy but we know it goes on.  

3. Set up your email authentications – SPF, DKIM and DMARC records on your sending domain’s DNS records. These tell the internet that they are your emails and they’re genuine (very important). On that note it’s best to use a separate domain for sending marketing emails in order to protect your corporate domain name.

4. Monitoring how recipients engage with your emails is also important to ensure your list is not sending ISPs signals that will negatively impact reputation. Do not persist in sending to people who consistently do not open your emails – they’re a damaging waste of time and you should ‘suppress’ them to take them out of your lists.   

5. Maintain a clean email list so go for a minimum bounce. We used to report these and now we’re reporting and managing. Some will be unsubscribed and some suppressed. 

Monitor and reacting to metrics to adapt your strategy as protocols evolve. Long winded way of saying don’t send rubbish. Good email marketing policy is sensible policy; you’ll see the number of contacts fall, but the number of opens go up and the levels of engagement. 

ICM driving customer engagement

ICM driving your customer engagement with the ongoing Deliverability Project

…. and on it goes 

The ongoing Deliverability Project; the aim of which is to drive your engagement with your contacts. 

To date we’ve taken various actions that have happened in the background to drive improved email deliverability, however we’ve now reached the stage where our actions may well draw your attention. 

The reasons for us acting are to help you to improve your communications, your online presence and move towards improved compliance.

The next step is …. we intend to suppress contacts who consistently don’t open your emails. 

Why? Simply, they’re doing you more harm than good. In terms of best practice, legislation, online reputation and probably spam reports.

You may well see a drop off in the number of contacts being sent to, but you should see a higher open rate and an increase in the level of engagement. 

These contacts have been suppressed and not unsubscribed. This means you can bring them back to your live lists, see Fig1

 

Contact-Suppression
 

Fig1

If you do want to bring the con tact back then our advice would be to change the type and nature of the email you send to them.

If you have any questions or queries, please ask.

We hope that you view this as a proactive and positive action to help your email marketing efforts.

EU ruling against Facebook

EU ruling against Facebook shows direction of travel for 'legitimate interest' argument

In an article from Martech from the 5th July 2023 by Constantine von Hoffman he states that Facebook and other tech giants will be hard-pressed to monetize their first-party data in the European Union, following a ruling yesterday (July 4th 2023) by the EU’s top court that shot down Facebook’s “legitimate interest” argument for personalized ads. 

No need to worry as yet as it goes on to state: 

While the ruling only applies to Germany, a new digital competition law will soon impose similar rules across the EU. Starting in March of next year, the Digital Markets Act requires services with at least 45 million monthly active EU users to get user consent to:

  • Process personal user data, 
  • Combine it with data from other platforms 
  • Cross-use data from one service to another. 

Read the full article here