#158 Liz Fuller: Amplify Your Marketing with Partners

Joining Chip Rodgers on this episode of Ecosystem Aces is Liz Fuller, Vice President & General Manager, Marketing at Zones.

Some of the topics they discussed include:

• Co-selling in the IT World
• Genuine Partner Relationships
• Creating and Communicating Partner Stories
• Creating Joint-Solutions in Go-to-Market Motions
• "Cut to the Chase" Marketing Strategy and Data Use
• Women on Work Podcast

Co-selling in the IT World

The co-selling landscape has changed over the years, particularly once Microsoft changed its co-selling terms four years ago.  With this change came a shift in how companies brought in revenue through their Microsoft co-sell partnerships.  

In order to adjust to this change, Liz advises that companies must correctly position their products and solutions not on gaps in your partner’s capabilities, or what your partner isn’t able to provide, but instead on what you and your partner can offer together.

Genuine Partner Relationships & Stories

Liz shared that by doing and giving more for your customers, you inherently transform them into advocates for you. Through the planning process with them, you can help your partners identify icebergs ahead that they may not see.

"The more you do for your customer, the stickier that customer is. The deeper you can go, the more introductions you get," Liz said about partner relationships.

Liz believes that true success in partnerships all comes back to creating partner stories. She described their storytelling process as not just selling a piece of the story, but sending a complete message. That's what partners do – they complete the story and show where the customer should sit within the entire co-marketing plan.

Creating Joint-Solutions in GTM Motions

"I love alliances. That's been my lifeblood. They're always going to be a part of my marketing plan," Liz shared.

On creating joint and industry-led solutions for go-to-market motions, Liz and Chip agreed that it's all about partner alignment.

"It's all about alignment, making sure you both know what success looks like and communicating that upfront," Liz said.

Marketers should avoid running campaigns that mean nothing to partners. This disjointedness in communication can be resolved by ensuring your company and your partner's company’s definition of success is the same and that you both are consistently working towards that definition.

Regarding success in managing partner marketing, Liz believes in transparency and vulnerability.

Marketing executives shouldn't hold back in saying what they want their team to achieve. The team should constantly be updated about everything leadership is assessing, especially the problems their teams have.

"Because ultimately, if you're not open to the problem, you're never going to solve it," Liz said.

We are all about solving problems!

"Cut to the Chase" Marketing Strategy and Data Use

Today’s most effective marketing strategy: "Anything short, consumable, and catchy," Liz said.

Liz also advised marketing executives to control their "compulsion" to push everything out - both for length of copy and the quantity of marketing materials. There's a lot of fatigue among customers today, which creates shorter and shorter attention spans.

She added that marketers should be prepared for customers who may change their minds in the middle of the conversion. To avoid this, create fear of missing out (“FOMO”) feelings among customers - time is of the essence!

Liz said at the heart of all marketing strategies, they use data. This includes CTRs, segmentation, targeting, and more.

Data is important to tell great stories. The team has to know how to measure data to determine when to abandon a campaign that no longer resonates with customers.

Liz also admitted that just like any other company, they're not exempt from undergoing trial and error. Marketers should be used to failing, but you should "fail fast" to resolve problems immediately.

"Women on Work" Podcast

Liz co-founded the podcast "Women on Work" with Alysia Baker Eve, Director of Product Marketing at ShareFile. The podcast was nominated Best Podcast under the Business Category at the 17th Annual People's Choice Podcast Awards - Wow!

The podcast started with Liz and Alysia talking as co-workers about how they navigate situations in the corporate space.  Later, they realized that their experiences apply to most women professionals.

Some of the topics they discuss are imposter syndrome among women professionals, setting boundaries, normalizing non-gender binaries, removing the need for pronouns, and accepting all types of women.

"Women on Work" Season 3 will be launched soon.

Wrapping Up

With all of Liz's insights, Chip said that what stands out the most is her insight about partnership alignment, her Venn diagram collaboration, and helping customers avoid icebergs.

Whether through marketing, production, or organizational matters, partners complete the story in this ecosystem age.

Follow Liz Fuller on Linkedin to stay updated on her work with Zones and her podcast "Women on Work."

Links & Resources

• Learn more about how WorkSpan helps customers accelerate their ecosystem flywheel through Co-selling, Co-innovating, Co-investing, and Co-marketing.
• Subscribe to the Ecosystem Aces Podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcast.
• Join the WorkSpan Community to engage with other partner ecosystem leaders on best practices, news, events, jobs, and other tips to advance your career in partnering.
• Find insightful articles on leading and getting the most out of your partner ecosystem on the WorkSpan blog.
• Download the Best Practices Guide for Ecosystem Business Management
• Download the Ultimate Guide for Partner Incentives and Market Development Funds

To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about modern partnering, he can be reached on Twitter, LinkedIn, or send Chip an email at: chip@workspan.com

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