Here we are, two weeks past the Marketing Velocity event and I wanted to share my thoughts about the power the Engage Marketing Suite could bring to your companies. As many of you know, I am wholeheartedly focused on the well-being of our Partners. I truly believe this is an incredible contribution Cisco is making to the value exchange in our joint relationships. But it only works when both parties can work together successfully. While I hope that what is shared here answers your questions and dispels any challenges, I welcome your questions!

Now that we have the housekeeping put aside, let’s talk about why we’ve taken this approach. We greatly value the partnerships we have with you and believe that in addition to creating great products, services, and solutions, we must follow the old adage, “You have to spend money, to make money!”  There is also the growing opportunity of how digital is impacting marketing. I’ll talk about this shortly.

Some of you are aware that we have created marketing campaigns that include marketing dollars that we’re investing in your companies to help you succeed. Alas, over time we’ve experienced that many of these funds go untouched. Why? Well there have been many reasons, including complications with Partner Marketing Central, not knowing how much wallet is available, and not knowing how to initiate marketing programs.

Well, we hope we have something to help with this. As SVP Wendy Bahr shared on main stage during the opening of Partner Summit — we give you, the Engage Marketing Suite. What does this mean, sans all the marketing speak? Simply put it’s a formula to help you succeed – but it will still require your focus and participation! Let’s break Engage down to its parts, then the sum of everything shows how it works for you.

The first part of the Engage suite includes a reinvigorated Marketing Velocity program. Previously, we would encapsulate best practices and bring them to our annual event or roadshow. We have expanded those capabilities to give you the latest in marketing best practices, training and advice from experts, along with the practical approaches offered at the annual event and ongoing global roadshows.

With the Marketing Velocity Hub, you will have always-on access to consistent best practices NOT just from Cisco, but from across the globe! Training will also be available so you can hone your marketing skills – with each course you take you will receive a certification of completion. No longer do we require you to take multiple courses, electives and classes. Imagine — you can be the envy of your colleagues with your newly acquired marketing knowledge.

In case that’s not enough, we know how much you enjoy guest speakers during the Marketing Velocity event, so we have initiated the On-the-Air Webcast series so you can learn from the experts. Because we really like you, we’ll continue to bring the Marketing Velocity events to life with great speakers and content, similar to the incredible talks from Guy Kawasaki and Cmdr. Chris Hadfield. Do I have you enchanted yet?

Ok… so that’s just a piece of it. While it’s our goal that you’ll use the learning benefits to help you think differently, to market effectively — all to reach existing or new audiences in ways you may not have thought possible. But now you ask, “What would we share and how could we pay for it?” This is where the new Partner Marketing Central (PMC) becomes that much more important.

We listened! And we changed it!

Simply put, Partner Marketing Central is a personalized digital experience that gives you access to campaigns tailored for you, combined with a simple way to manage your marketing funds. This means you can customize digital demand generation services to engage your customers and drive revenue. No longer will you have to hunt for campaigns and content since the interface is personalized for you. And, depending on your region you’ll have access to your marketing funds easily, safely and securely. If you’re having challenges, questions or concerns we have digital marketing experts available for you to help you identify and activate the right marketing mix for your company. Still not sure how to use those funds? Rely on your new marketing knowledge provided by Marketing Velocity, or use your funds to manage one of the many vendors we have on standby to help you…ENGAGE.

Continue reading “It’s Time to Use the Engage Marketing Suite – And Win!”