Solution providers can spend less money getting new customers and boost their valuation by embracing modern marketing techniques and driving cross-sell opportunities, according to Pax8 executives.
Rayn Walsh, senior vice president of partners solutions at the Greenwood Village, Colo.-based cloud distributor, said solution providers should look to spend less than $24 for every $1 of new recurring revenue. Leveraging sales and marketing more effectively will enable solution providers to get a better return on their investment, Walsh said.
“If you can get that under $24, the rest of that is gravy,” Walsh said during a solution track session Monday at The Channel Company’s XChange 2017 conference. “It goes to the bottom line.”
Reducing customer acquisition cost will enable solution providers to increase their valuation and run a more efficient shop, Walsh said. One of the best ways to do this is by owning a niche, he said, meaning the company must be one of the top three providers in a particular geography, technology or vertical area of focus.
“Long are the days where you can just broadly shoot,” Walsh said. “You’ve got to own something.”
Solution providers that don’t find themselves in the top three of any category need to rethink their strategy and make it specific enough to own a certain segment of the market, Walsh said.
When it comes to marketing, Walsh said no one is reading long emails anymore that describe a company in great detail. Instead, solution providers should communicate with prospective customers using short blurbs and a call to action.
“That requires that you capture what your secret sauce is in the shortest amount of space,” Walsh said. “Be very proscriptive about what it is.”
Modern marketing techniques also require that solution providers examine conversion rates, ad tracking and search engine optimization to assess what’s working and what’s not, Walsh said. The channel should examine how prospects are coming to their company as well, according to Walsh.
“We have a lot of new developments, which means you need to be able to know what’s effective and what’s not,” Walsh said.