elevation marketing | elevationb2b.com

Avnet PremierCASE STUDY

Elevation Marketing helps top IT distributor fuel technology partner success with single-source sales enablement site.

After the Enormous Success of the Avnet Quantum Leap Microsite, Avnet Wanted to Give Their Users a One-stop Site for All InformationSeizing on the wildly successful Quantum Leap training site for NetApp and its partners, Avnet Technology Solutions decided to broaden its microsite approach to make it even easier to do business with its partners.

The Avnet/NetApp Quantum Leap training microsite, created by Elevation Marketing, resulted in tens of millions in new revenues. But after receiving NetApp credentials, partners still had to access information from several sites and sort through various messages from Avnet and NetApp to stay abreast of the latest products, marketing, and sales promotions.

Avnet realized partners were inundated with information from various sources, and none of it was connected, which often lead to information overload. If centralizing training information made it easier for partners and led to increased sales, how much more could they generate if they gave partners a one-stop site for all information, they wondered.

Additional research revealed that partners weren’t the only ones wasting time trying to find the latest product information, marketing campaigns or sales collateral. Managers and employees at Avnet and NetApp were also finding it difficult to navigate to different sites to find the most up-to-date information about the partnership, which they needed to support partners. Additionally, potential partners, also known as resellers, were also trying to figure out the advantages of working with Avnet and the benefits of reselling NetApp products found it hard to find that information.

BACKGROUND

Avnet looked at expanding their

microsite approach In an effort

to streamline portal use

Create a Single, Streamlined Site Offering Multiple Levels of Access for PartnersThe Elevation Marketing team proposed a single sales enablement site with various levels of access. Creating a membership-like site would allow information to be stored in a single location, ensuring all three groups would have access to the same information. The site would be gated, allowing access only to information according to status, with various internal Avnet and NetApp employees having access to everything while partners and prospective partners would have more limited access based on their status.

The previously created training site Quantum Leap would be a part of the broader new site, and Elevation would need to create an integrated marketing campaign to not only inform internal parties of the site but also appeal to new partners. Marketing to existing partners would be easier since they could build upon the success achieved with Quantum Leap.

CHALLENGE

BUILD A SUCCESSFUL AND USER-FRIENDLY SITE BASED ON THE SUCCESS OF THE QUANTUM LEAP TRAINING SITE

OFFER MULTIPLE ACCESS OPTIONS FOR USERS BASED ON STATUS

CREATE A MARKETING CAMPAIGN TO BRING IN NEW PARTNERS

1

2

3

AVNET PREMIER APPROACHED ELEVATION MARKETING TO

HELP THE BUSINESS:

Website

MORE ORGANIC SEARCH TRAFFIC

IN 90 DAYS

161.7%

ORGANIC TRAFFIC FOR NON-BRANDED KEYWORDS GREW

23.1%

Elevation Marketing knew from experience they would need new branding for the broader site but that it also shouldn’t be a great departure from the existing Quantum Leap branding. In collaboration with the Avnet team, they brainstormed possible brand names and chose Avnet Premier, which would help signal the distributor’s growing leadership position in the marketplace. The Premier name would also lend to the one-stop aspect of the brand. They understood they needed to keep communication simple, streamlined and engaging to elevate Avnet from competitors including Arrow and Ingram Micro.

Mapping out the content and site navigation was the first order of business. Elevation needed to add sales, marketing, demand generation and news to the Quantum Leap platform. This information needed to be partner-level; sales cycle and offer relevant up-to

-date information to help sell more NetApp solutions from Avnet. The Elevation technology team needed to gate the content and create the appropriate access while the creative team collected content, designed the site and created new content for the site.

Elevation also created an integrated marketing plan around a simple message: Avnet Premier is the exclusive one-stop portal for the latest information devoted to helping NetApp sales flourish.

Elevation Marketing’s veteran team handled every aspect of the site build and communication plan. To measure success, Elevation tracked partner participation and membership, tracked resource downloads, email open and click rates, and measured internal adoption rates.

STRATEGY

Boost Platform Content on a Newly Branded, Consistently Updated Portal While Marketing the Premier Service of Avnet

DELIVERABLES

• Sitemap

• Creation of site with three levels of user access

• Branding design and guidelines for new brand name

• Promo video to generate awareness and interest

• Journals, which are two page customized inserts

• Mailers with shipping labels and journals

• Sell sheets with a one page overview program for partners

• Launch emails

• Email templates for Avnet to distribute

Website (Desktop View)

87% INCREASE IN REGISTERED AVNET

USERS AND CERTIFIED NETAPP PARTNERS

Sell Sheet

eNewsletter

Journal Insert

AVNET AND ITS PARTNERS

WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR 15%

OF NETAPP SALES IN 2013

$

Avnet Premier Successfully Closed Sales and Marketing Gaps Almost ImmediatelyElevation Marketing delivered a scalable and robust partner portal — Avnet Premier — with three levels of user access: public, partner and internal that launched in March, 2013. The online portal provides NetApp Value Added Resellers, also known as partners, direct access to product specific training, customizable curriculums and certification programs, pre-packaged marketing campaigns, other real-time coaching sales tools and news.

Avnet Premier quickly alleviated NetApp information inconsistencies, closed the gap between sales and marketing, and accelerated channel revenue growth for Avnet, NetApp and their partners, with an increase of registered Avnet users and certified NetApp partners of 87 percent.

Partners were excited about having all this information in one place - sales, marketing training, certifications and demand generation. Prospective partners were able to see how easy it was to become an Avnet partner because their site showcases how they collaborate with customers and suppliers to create and deliver services, software and hardware solutions.

The one-stop information portal’s success was reflected as one of the larger initiatives that helped increase sales for both Avnet and NetApp. Avnet and its partners accounted for $958 million or 15 percent of NetApp’s sales in 2013, a figure that grew by $52 million to more than $1 billion in NetApp revenues in 2014.

The sales enablement site and marketing was so successful that Elevation Marketing rolled the concept out to other divisions within Avnet and to other Elevation clients.

RESULTS

“Partners were excited about having all this

information in one place – sales, marketing training,

certifications, and demand generation”

elevation marketing | elevationb2b.com

Elevation Marketing is a full-service B2B marketing agency, providing exceptional client experiences that result in more business wins. We go beyond tactics to inspire experiences that build brand believers. From a holistic perspective, we focus on all aspects of operations and strategy to ensure alignment between marketing and sales.

We have a strong command of inbound marketing, and know how to effectively manage, deliver and retain buyers. We offer full-cycle web development services for the enterprise. We build bridges of communication, streamlining the dissemination of information to targeted entities.

Whether its partner portals, online stores, web apps or microsites, our custom digital solutions help you govern personal data through its entire lifecycle for superior lead generation and nurturing.

If you have a B2B product or service that solves real-world problems, then you’ve done your job. We’ll do ours by connecting you to the B2B decision makers that will benefit from what you have to offer.

Top 20 Interactive Marketing Firm

ABOUT ELEVATION

Scott Miraglia, President Sales@ElevationB2B.com 275 East Rivulon Blvd., Suite 411 Gilbert, Arizona 85297

480.775.8880