Championing the channel

People that know me say that I live, breathe, and sleep channel marketing. That’s not quite true. Sometimes I even dream it too! While the work’s not always easy, it’s always rewarding – and it’s only when you really test yourself that you discover how much you can achieve. 

As I look back over my first year at Westcoast Cloud – a year in which I have been shortlisted for the CRN Women in Channel Marketing Employee of the Year – I think how far I have come in such a short time.

Joining Westcoast Cloud allowed me to put my existing marketing skills to great use and I haven’t looked back since!

But what – you may well ask – is so great about working in channel marketing?

When many people think of marketing, they conjure up images of Mad Men in smoke-filled rooms, agonising over which snappy taglines would shift the most product. The reality is very different.

In channel marketing, you get the opportunity to really understand your audience, communicate with your customers one on one and build a valuable relationship over time. And when it’s done right, it gets results.

That’s why huge brands like Microsoft focus so much time on it. It’s their most profitable sales route for a reason. Channel marketers must master the craft of selling inside out, knowing the benefits and drawbacks of a solution, and everything in between.

Today’s channel marketing is not just about selling; it’s about building relationships with people. It’s about knowing how your product or solution will fit into a customer’s existing setup – knowing how it will save time in a busy school or drive productivity in a bustling restaurant.

And, importantly, it’s about knowing how you can support your customers to ensure their own marketing budget and effort sees the biggest impact in the shortest time.

In the past, channel marketing has been guilty of chasing short-term wins. And, while there is some value to these one-off achievements, I see marketing as a marathon, not a sprint.  Although I can’t deny that every day in marketing presents immediate, urgent challenges – and we certainly need to keep a lot of plates spinning at once! I believe that we need to be putting in place future-facing strategies today that will be driving value tomorrow. For this reason, it’s the longer-term brand awareness campaigns Westcoast Cloud has worked on over the past 12 months that I’ve enjoyed most.

Every day at Westcoast Cloud I analyse what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and what we hope to achieve. Because it’s only by constantly pushing at the boundaries that you’ll find ways to expand them.

How about you? Let’s connect on LinkedIn and discuss – I’d love to hear how others got started in the channel – and what they love about being here.