One thing that often gets overlooked in partner enablement? Brand consistency. As marketers, it’s easy for us to focus on the basics — i.e., the training materials, sales tools, or other resources. Unfortunately, we often forget to emphasize the importance of a consistent brand message to our sales and partner counterparts.
Maintaining brand consistency across all partner interactions is the golden ticket that builds credibility, encourages customer satisfaction and ultimately drives sales. And In channel marketing, aligning your partners with your brand matters more than ever. According to recent research, 52% of channel leaders are ramping up their investment in partner enablement. (And if they’re smart, materials that emphasize brand consistency should be part of that effort).
Below, we explore four reasons why equipping your partners with the right tools and knowledge to represent your brand is oh, so, essential.
1. Consistency is the foundation of trust
Brand consistency isn’t just logos and color schemes; it’s the whole shebang. You want a unified experience that resonates with customers at every touchpoint on their buyer’s journey. If your channel partners can adequately represent your brand, they can act as extensions of your business. Even better, if their messaging, tone and values align with yours, they build trust with your customers. Win-win!
We all agree that trust is essential in any successful business relationship. Case in point, customers are more likely to purchase from a brand they trust. Do you know what helps establish trust? Consistent branding. When your partners deliver a consistent message, customers feel confident that they’re getting the same quality of service and product as they would from you directly.
Consider a scenario where two different partners sell the same product — but with different messaging, eek! One partner might emphasize scalability, while the other focuses on affordability. While both messages could be accurate, the inconsistency might confuse customers or dilute the brand’s overall value proposition. In contrast, if they consistently delivered the same message instead, it would reinforce the brand’s strengths and build credibility.
Tips for building trust with brand consistency:
- Take advantage of teaching opportunities. Host regular training webinars for partners that emphasize the importance of brand consistency and how to maintain it.
- Make it easy for them. Create a partner marketing guide or website where your partners can find information about messaging, tone of voice as well as brand assets like logos etc.
- Get choosy. Be discerning when selecting partners that align with your company values and goals. It’s ok to turn away a partner or end a relationship if you aren’t headed in the same direction.
2. Enhance your customer’s experience via consistency
Who hasn’t gone back to a place where they had a good shopping experience? In a competitive market, customer experience is the North Star. A positive, seamless transaction can turn a one-time buyer into a long-time loyal customer.
Hello again, brand consistency.
Predictability creates a (calming) sense of security and reliability — critical components for any positive customer experience. Essentially, customers who encounter consistent branding know what to expect from your product or service. If your partners have (and use) the right messaging and tools, the overall customer journey is more likely to be as frictionless as it would be with you.
Tips for enhancing your customers’ experience through partners:
- Templatize the journey. Offer your partners branded or co-branded templates for every part of the customer journey, from first contact through purchase and even follow-up.
- Show some love. Feature partners on your website or social media to offer the end customer peace of mind that they are buying from an approved partner or reseller.
- Everything short of doing it yourself. Offer co-op marketing dollars to your partners to run specific campaigns with approved branding.
3. Consistency helps support your partner’s performance
Brand consistency doesn’t just benefit your customers; it makes it all easier on your partners. When partners clearly understand your brand and how to communicate it they are better equipped to sell your products.
A well-defined brand strategy should include clear guidelines for partners to help them feel more confident representing your product. If they know what your brand stands for, how to communicate its value and how to align their sales strategies accordingly, the stars will align. AKA improved partner performance and stronger, more cohesive marketing efforts. (Woo-hoo!).
Consistent branding should reduce the chance of your partners deviating from your desired message. When you reiterate the importance of brand consistency and give them the tools to maintain it, they’ll be less likely to create their own materials or messages that might stray from your core brand’s narrative.
Tips for supporting partner performance with brand:
- Stay in touch. Communicate regularly with your partners about brand updates so they understand how important it is to your company that partners maintain brand standards.
- Sharing is caring. Make it easy for partners to access the latest brand materials in a shared drive or password-protected brand portal.
- Refresh like the best of them. Continually provide new marketing materials and templates to your partners so they feel they can rely on you for marketing support and are more motivated to use your materials.
4. Strengthen your market position
Competing against larger brands with more resources? A strong, consistent brand is clutch in a noisy marketplace. And when all your partners are on the same page in their messaging (of your brand), it amplifies your voice to strengthen your position in the market even more.
We recommend that you aim for a balance between consistency and adaptability. Your channel partners might operate in diverse markets with varying customer needs and preferences. So, while allowing for some flexibility is helpful, the goal should be a core brand message that always remains consistent.
Tips for strengthening your market positioning:
- Know your sticking points. Decide on your brand non-negotiables and convey them clearly to your partners. This is particularly important if your industry is heavily regulated, as certain words or phrases can be legally troublesome.
- Be flexible where you can. Encourage partners to think out of the box and try new things without compromising the core brand. Small partner campaigns can be great testing grounds for your larger company marketing initiatives.
You + us = consistent channel partner enablement
Investing in channel partner enablement is smart, but it’s only part of the equation. Ensuring brand consistency across all partner interactions is equally important. It builds trust, enhances the customer experience, supports partner performance and strengthens your market position.
As you develop your channel partner strategies, don’t forget about consistency! By giving your partners the right tools, training and resources, you can help them represent your brand with the same passion and precision as your internal team. And if you need help from a team that gets consistency AND channel partner enablement, we’re here. Just reach out.
For a deeper dive into achieving brand consistency in your channel partner programs, download our eBook: Countdown to Consistency.