Microsoft large account resellers (LARs) are among the most influential channel partners in the industry. Companies that benefit the most from LARs are those that understand how to work with LARs as sales influencers. LAR influence ranges from injecting consultative insight into a volume-licensing contract, to sharing competitive intel on mutual accounts. LARs can also give their downstream partners an … Read More
Gillen on direct marketers and influencers
Paul Gillen draws a surprising line between direct marketing and influencer marketing in a guest post at Deliver. Connecting those two dots in particular — DM and influencer marketing — is heresy in many marketing circles. Common wisdom dictates that the influencer contact list and the direct marketing database should never meet. We’re seeing the beginning of the end of … Read More
Influencer marketing in the downturn
Economic conditions, cutbacks in marketing spending, and staff downsizing are top of mind with many of the tech marketers I’ve met over the last few weeks. One group that stands out as much more upbeat is the analyst relations community here in Silicon Valley. Many of the AR practitioners who gathered last week at an IIAR meeting told me that … Read More
Oracle blends influencers into community
Vinnie Mirchandani is one the enterprise IT influencers not attending Oracle OpenWorld in the flesh this year. Instead, he’s plugging into event content and buzz through the new “Oracle OpenWorld 2008 Influencer Community.” Smart move by Oracle. Oracle invited media and bloggers alike to join this event-specific influencer community. That means bloggers don’t need to request access from different marketing … Read More
Getting personal with influencers
Duncan points out a real world example using influencer marketing to create common ground and shared thinking among traditional marketing silos — PR, analyst relations, events, partner programs, et al. It’s easy to overlook the significance of this point. I’ve sat through many marketing department meetings where the only meaningful common ground was the catered lunch. Analyst relations can play … Read More
BuzzLogic converts influencer blogs into ad network
Voices arguing that blogger popularity does not equate to influence lost a little more ground this week. A new ad network promises to deliver influential blogs to media buyers. My reaction is a mix of cheering and concern. What’s up: San Francisco-based BuzzLogic has launched its BuzzLogic Ad Targeting service. Essentially, the service enables companies to identify and place ads … Read More
How sourcing advisors are getting into your account
If you sell technology, you already know that sourcing advisors figure prominently in your influencer ecosystems. Have you ever wondered how they manage to get into your accounts in the first place? Most likely, they’re getting to your customers and prospects through word of mouth referrals, vendor referrals, or direct sales. That’s according to a new study on the sourcing … Read More
Fear of influencing
The latest Post2Post Book Tour links to a funny cartoon on buzz marketing by Tom Fishburne. In it, he captures a powerful objection to influencer marketing: fear. The simple truth is that many executives would rather ignore top influencers than engage with them and risk a negative outcome. Fear of influencing can show up in subtle ways. Some executives express … Read More
Can you export influence?
One of the US-based industry analyst firms, Enterprise Strategy Group, just announced it’s expanding into China. Announcements like this raise at least 2 interesting questions: Can ESG — a small specialty tech market research firm — gain enough traction in China to make the investment pay off? What does it mean to analyst relations and influencer marketing programs? The answers … Read More
Influencer marketing classics: Seth Godin at TED 2003
Labor Day is a good time to reflect on why you insist on thwarting the best marketers in the nation. You do it every time you tune out those repetitive, interrupt-driven mass marketing ads. And, you’re not alone. You’re a walking case study of why mass marketing doesn’t work as well as it used to. Seth Godin explained it really … Read More