channel empowerment - social media academy

© Copyright Xeequa Corp. 2008

Channel Empowerment

Axel SchultzePresident Social Media Academy

CEO Xeesm Corp

2© Copyright Social Media Academy 2009 Copying or distribution is prohibited

Academy Intro

Social Media Academy started in Jan 2009

The mission is to provide the most comprehensive social media education

We had over 3,000 participants from 24 countries in our various education programs

Social Media Strategist Certification

Corporate Social Media Education

Channel Empowerment Programs


Social Media Academy Alumni

http://Xeesm.com/KM

http://Xeesm.com/LaureenEarnest

http://Xeesm.com/MikeDubrall

http://Xeesm.com/NancyChou

http://Xeesm.com/TomSwift

http://Xeesm.com/SusanRice

http://Xeesm.com/CatherineSherwood

http://xeesm.com/MarkEldrige

http://Xeesm.com/ElsomEldridge

http://xeesm.com/Steve

http://xeesm.com/MatthiasBeckmann

http://xeesm.com/MatSpar/

http://Xeesm.com/WendySoucie

http://Xeesm.com/LisaRobb

http://Xeesm.com/RMarkMoore

http://xeesm.com/wk4coffee/

http://Xeesm.com/Speciale

http://Xeesm.com/LamiaLee

http://Xeesm.com/Boughty

http://Xeesm.com/Walter

http://xeesm.com/KM

http://xeesm.com/LaureenEarnest

http://xeesm.com/MikeDubrall

http://xeesm.com/NancyChou

http://xeesm.com/TomSwift

http://xeesm.com/SusanRice

http://xeesm.com/CatherineSherwood

http://xeesm.com/MarkEldrige

http://xeesm.com/ElsomEldridge

http://xeesm.com/Steve

http://xeesm.com/MatthiasBeckmann

http://xeesm.com/MatSpar/

http://xeesm.com/WendySoucie

http://xeesm.com/LisaRobb

http://xeesm.com/RMarkMoore

http://xeesm.com/wk4coffee/

http://xeesm.com/Speciale

http://xeesm.com/LamiaLee

http://xeesm.com/Boughty

http://xeesm.com/Walter


Status quo

The Channel is the stepchild of the family

At least for the last 50 years

75% of world trade goes through channels

Mainly through the power of direct marketing

You HAVE to be in social media

Because 500 MM people are there

Because I can sell you consulting

Earth is a disk

…

Today we make a change


For the next 45 Minutes

Elevate your point of view.

Getting off the tools discussion and the social chatter

Lift up and take a look from outer space

Come back and have a few steps you can do tomorrow without “Executive Buy-in”


Understand the change


The model of influence changed in its foundation

Number of inquires has dropped to the floor

Request for information – lowest ever

Leads typically represented the start of a process ending with an “Educated Purchase Decision” – it was the begin of a sales process

That “education process” has changed!

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Lead / inquiry flow over time

News paper

+ Bill boards

+ Tradeshows

+ Internet reg. pages

+ TV commercials

????


The new product discovery model


Shift in customer education processes

UP UNTIL RECENTLY

The experts in stores, industry analysts and the “specialists” from the respective manufacturers were KEY in customer education.

Whether is was a consumer good or a new IT infrastructure project; the decision was mainly influenced by those experts.

AND THAT HAS CHANGED

The most influential force in the customer education process is the Internet – more precisely the social web.

Vendors, industry experts, industrial media lost their influence. Consumers and corporate buyers moved on to new spaces for product education – in ALL Industries.


The five #1’s for Social Media In Channels

#1 Overall Business ObjectiveBe recommended

#1 ChangeCreating a social customer experience

#1 RealizationChannel partners own the relationship

#1 ImplicationInvest in partner empowerment

#1 ResultYour biggest recommendation base is your channel


Partners operate in isolation

Channel programs are 20+ years old

Channel marketing lost its edge

Partner relationships are sore

Help your partners understand the new world


Where to start?


Step by step engagement

Know where your partners are

Tell them where you are

Make sure you know where they are

Engage them into discussions

Help your partners leverage the social web

Make it clear that it is their AND your business that is at risk

Request to support your social engagement

Make them your recommendation engine

Help them engage with their clients

Make them what partners always were – the powerful middleman in the recommendation chain


Know where your partners are

Introduce your own socialpresence first.

Xeesm.com/yourname

Find where your partners hang out in the social web.

Simply by asking them

Or upload your partnersand use “Social Finder”

Care and share

Connect with as many as possible

Visit them at least once a week

You can reach 100 partners each week that way


Your daily social engagement

20 Minutes each day (4% of the day):

Day 1 listen / read several posts

Day 2 chime into a conversation

Day 3 comment on blogs, groups, tweets

Day 4 care about their personal lives

Day 5 making introductions

Day 6 Feature your partners on other blogs

Day 7 suggesting an interesting site or post

Day 8 invitation to your own group

Day 9 Feature them on other sites

Day 10 Make them heroes on your presence

Do care – be social – be helpful

You don’t need executive buy in to do this


Professional Social Relationship Management

Create your social address book of partners

Get the social presence of your partners

Make visiting your partners a daily routine

You see last touches

You see the progress of achievement (5 objectives)

Instead of browsing and searching through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn :

Focus


Help your partners leverage the social web

Educate your partners on how their sales organization can gain from being in the social web

Help them understand how their outbound sales team can double customer reach by connecting with clients in the social web

Help them stop the email marketing spam

Help them focus and avoid the random chatter

Develop a program that:

Encourages to engage with customers

Motivate to share expertise

Reward based on activities in the social web *

Reward for reusing your content, retweet… *

The first time you can easily extend rewards based on brand loyalty – not only revenue

* = Only if you put out monetary rewards you need executive buy-in


Social Media Based Partner Program

Objectives

Guidance

Rewards

Review


Make partners your recommendation engine

Reward their social presence big time

They are your recommendation platform like no direct sales organization ever can have

Leverage their recommendations

Re-tweet their content

Feature their posts

Bring them to the forefront of YOUR social engagement

Make them heroes for recommending you

Got channels?

Amplified and accelerated by social media


Are they you looking for an ROI?

Looking for Social Media ROI is looking for an excuse to not engage.

ROI is $ gained over $ spent

How much do you spend for your fan page? $0.00

How much cost your Wordpress Blog? $0.00

How much cost your Twitter account? $0.00

How much do you spend for SEO to get “traffic” which is a list of meaningless IP Addresses in your weblog?

Help your partners understand that Social Media doesn’t cost money – and the time they spend is with their customers, not with tools.


Summary

Your channel can recommend your products like no direct sales force ever can

Social media is the most powerful tool to leverage your channel


Phased Approach

Phase I

Find and meet your partners in the social web

Train your partners how customers make their educated purchase decision

Phase II

Create powerful social media partner programs

Develop new rewards programs

Create an integrated strategy


Resources – Connections

Http://socialmedia-academy.com

Http://xeesm.com

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2698760



http://www.socialmedia-academy.com/blog/index.php/us-program/channel-enablement-610/

http://xeesm.com/_/site/index.php/starter-kits/channel-empowerment-kit/

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Questions & Answers

Q + A


Thank You

© 2009 Social Media Academy. All rights reserved. This content is protected under the copyright law of the United States. It is prohibited to make full or partial copies or extractions of this documentation without the explicit written approval from the Social Media Academy.

All materials contained herein are the property of the Social Media Academy and its faculty and may only be used, by an enrolled student for his or her own educational benefit.

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+1 (650) 384 0057xeesm.com/AxelS

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About

The Social Media Academy is an education and research institute providing education for business professionals from all industries on how to best apply social media to their respective businesses. The main emphasis is to help business managers and consultant to get a comprehensive education on Social Media, including strategy development, planning, execution, tools, resources ways to report and analyze development and success and help understand the evolutionary changes in our society. As part of the educational development, the Social Media Academy conducts research exploring the ongoing changes in the field and support the continuous learning process as well as monitor ongoing changes in the field.

The main course is the institute’s leadership class which focuses on how to plan, implement and engage with social media in all business areas including marketing, sales, product development, service & support, logistics, administration and engineering.

The Social Media Academy is based in Palo Alto, California. For more information go to http://www.socialmedia-academy.com