ZINFI Technologies, Inc.

“What you measure is what you get” is a great business mantra. And when it comes to sales, it becomes much more than that: it’s a practice that drives the future sustainability and growth of a company. To make an impact, metrics need to be applied across multiple business areas by deploying  channel marketing automation , of course. For example, if you are managing sales operations through a...

It’s hard to get a true picture of how your channel partners feels about you as a vendor just by sending out a survey. As we discussed in a previous post , most requests for feedback yield responses from only the top-performing channel partners. But the ones you really need to know most about are those who are selling little or nothing at all of what you have to offer. The upside of converting jus...

When new opportunities beckon, many companies are tempted to jump in too early, and try to boost new product sales by building a massive channel partner network rather than examining whether the channel is equipped to deliver on expectations. Very often, in fact, a more discriminating approach yields better results. In a previous post , we discussed the necessity for channel-driven companies to ba...

The primary challenge for any reasonably large technology company with global presence, marketing in a business-to-business (B2B) channel environment, is making sure that marketing assets that are created centrally for global use can actually be deployed locally. Most companies would also like to see substantial content development and deployment at a country level to boost the local sales efforts...

Customer relationship management (CRM) has evolved into a multi-billion dollar segment, with good reason. However, the Partner Relationship Management (PRM) category is relatively new, even though channel programs have been around for many decades. Why is that? Well, phone systems for tracking and taking better care of customers were essentially started by the airline industry back in the late Six...

One of the realities of channel marketing, of which vendor organizations are all too painfully aware, is that the majority of channel partners do not have dedicated marketing resources. So, when a vendor wants their channel partners to run marketing campaigns, it is not only essential to provide a channel marketing automation platform, but also to give the partners the means to make it happen by p...

Most channel partners don’t have a marketing department, a marketing specialist, or even an outsourced marketing provider, and even if they do, these resources tend to operate not as marketing strategists, but more as vendor interface managers – handling multiple vendors and a variety of product lines. This is where a partner marketing concierge comes in. It is fair to say that most channel...

Email marketing remains a powerful growth channel when built on relationships, relevance, and genuine value delivery. The question of whether digital outreach through inbox campaigns has died depends entirely on execution strategy. Organizations that combine personalized messaging with permission-based approaches continue generating measurable returns from their campaigns. The debate about whether...

Lackluster returns from a marketing campaign are common, but understanding why this is the case is not always clear-cut. Traditionally, poor results are usually attributed to three failures – ineffective targeting, improper implementation (failure to use integrated marketing ), and diffused messaging without a clear call to action. In this article, we will focus on the approaches and tactics...

Growing Customer revenues are a top priority for most B2B IT solutions providers. New customer acquisition is one way of accomplishing this, but we all know that winning new accounts in today’s hyper competitive IT market is really hard. So what else can drive this growth? The simple answer is: taking better care of existing customers. I know it sounds obvious, but the reality is, very few IT solu...

How things have changed during the past decade! Just a few years ago, outbound business-to-business (B2B) selling to the mid-market and enterprise – was mostly an exercise in cold calling. Now, with the advent of digital marketing and the evolution of CRMs and B2B list providers, the way that super-effective sales people sell today is very different. The sales process has evolved into an integrate...

Wikipedia defines trifecta   as “a  parimutuel bet  in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third in exact order.”  The good news is that when you are running a digital marketing program you don’t need to be quite so precise in order to win the bet as long as you are properly using three key tactics: Social Marketing , Search Engine Marketing & Email Market...

Most vendors spend millions of dollars in generating end user awareness and inbound leads. However, very few have systems in place for getting those leads effectively to channel partners. Instead, many of those leads tend to be pursued by inside sales teams, but lack of an integrated channel lead management system  substantially reduces marketing ROI.   At ZINFI , we regularly do channel...

We frequently see vendors and providers struggling to figure out what would be the right set of programs to use Market Development Funds (MDF) or Co-operative (Co-op) Marketing Funds effectively to drive value for their partners and agents, and also provide high level of marketing ROI. In fact, there are a few insights that make it easier to do the right things right. Over the years we have seen o...

There’s a pot of gold waiting for IT solution providers – and technology vendors are almost uniformly frustrated in getting their channel to make use of it. Vendors who sell through a channel or an agent network allocate between 1 and 2% of their top line revenue as Market Development Funds for their partners. However, for the most part, these Market Development Funds (MDF) fail to realize their p...

Most organizations who sell through the channel have both productive and unproductive partners. One of the easiest ways to grow revenue is to figure out how to transform some of the partners from unproductive into productive. Partner profiling is an excellent way to unlock this potential. If you have a channel that has hundreds or even thousands of partners, it is reasonable to assume that majorit...

Most partner portals today are a reflection of how the world used to be versus how they need to be. As we talk to our client base and their channel partners, we hear a high level of dissatisfaction with vendor portals, whether it’s the technology platform, ease of use or how the content is uploaded, managed and used. Yet in every aspect of portal management, huge opportunities exist to drive...

At ZINFI , we do a bi-annual worldwide channel survey across a broad range of channel partners and resellers to understand various opportunities related to marketing and sales activities. One of the core areas we ask questions are tied to Market Development Funds (MDF) . The typical questions we ask are tied to how easy it is to apply, what partners want to do, etc. In one of our recent surveys we...

While high-end Web Content Syndication tools have existed for more than a couple of decades, the introduction of simple product showcase syndication for partners’ websites is relatively a new weapon in the Channel Marketing Automation arsenal. Web Content Syndication is a very important technology and can quickly distribute a large amount of branded content via multiple partners’ websites. It is v...

Executive Summary (TL;DR) Modern distributed growth relies on scaling expertise, not just headcount. Successful organizations leverage Channel Marketing Automation to synchronize brand standards across thousands of independent partners. By integrating co-branded content, automated lead distribution, and multi-touch drip campaigns, enterprises eliminate manual friction, ensure global brand complian...

Effective email marketing requires cutting through the noise of a crowded digital inbox. To achieve this, you must adopt strategies that prioritize personalization and genuine value. In today’s digital landscape, the average person receives dozens of emails every day. This high volume makes it incredibly challenging for businesses to capture audience attention. Standing out requires more tha...

Executive Summary (TL;DR) Effective channel marketing requires a specialized digital content strategy to bridge the gap between vendors and end-users. By empowering partners with high-quality, localized assets, brands drive scalable growth and measurable ROI. This guide explores modular content frameworks, the automation paradox, and consultative strategies necessary to maintain a competitive adva...

Strategic partner recruitment transforms channel ecosystems by aligning vendor solutions with ideal partner profiles through data-driven frameworks, automated enablement workflows and consultative engagement strategies that drive sustainable revenue growth and reduce churn across global markets. Organizations mastering these recruitment fundamentals build resilient ecosystems with higher partner a...

Channel marketing automation provides a structured way to engage partners with personalized, relevant content. It helps you automate routine tasks, so you can focus on building stronger relationships. In today’s competitive landscape, simply having a channel program is not nearly enough. You must actively engage your partners to keep them motivated and productive for you. Your partners are b...