When it comes to customer retention with the help of martech, Eileen Koh, Director, Partner Marketing, SAP Concur in APAC, believes there is still untapped potential. While many companies have focused on the initial stages of the customer lifecycle, such as creating engaging content, they often neglect the post-purchase stage.

“One major challenge is the time it takes to develop effective content for user retention. With multiple products and target personas, building tailored content can be a resource-intensive task. It takes away the focus from our partners to fully maximize their time in growing the customer account,” she said.

Eileen manages the partner ecosystem in APAC for SAP Concur, an American SaaS company providing travel and expense management services to businesses. When asked about the challenges of marketing for and with partners, she talked about both time and resource scarcity in ensuring effective go-to-market execution.

Eileen pointed out that the lack of investments in automating content building may be attributed to a lack of awareness of available technologies.

Marketers who are well-versed in various platforms and technologies are more likely to embrace automation. On the other hand, those with limited knowledge or exposure to the capabilities of technology may overlook its potential.

Additionally, a lack of sponsorship or advocacy within a business can further hinder investment in marketing technology. This is often the case for partners who come from smaller organizations, where comprehensive demand generation practices do not exist.

For such partner organizations, there is a reliance of marketing teams on sales leadership. In some cases, where the reporting line is to sales rather than marketing, the understanding and appreciation of martech and automation may be lacking. Sales-oriented leaders may view marketing expenses as affecting the bottom line and may not fully comprehend the value and potential of marketing technologies.

“The dynamics of working with different types of partners vary. In all cases, building specific content to encourage post-sales engagement is key to building greater embeddedness and driving sales opportunities for acquired accounts. ”

Lack of channel visibility hinders demand generation

Using martech to provide a human touch

The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably impacted businesses and their partner ecosystems. Our expert highlighted how resellers shifted their focus from selling specific software to diversifying their product offerings.

This pivot allowed them to adapt to the changing market demands. For example, a powerful travel and expense platform like SAP Concur, during a time like the pandemic, could highlight the importance of features that aid in employee safety and convenience, such as duty of care and mobile capabilities.

“We could work with our resellers and position ourselves to customers as enablers of duty of care towards their employees.

For example, travel advisories can be issued to customers and their employees, to avoid outbreak areas.

“Employees still need to travel and organizations need to be able to be accountable for their safety, when they do,” Eileen explained.

Looking ahead, economic forecasts and financial considerations heavily influence businesses’ decisions to invest in marketing technologies. Factors such as the cost of owning the software over time and the return on investment play vital roles in decision-making.

Moreover, organizational behavior, employee engagement, and sustainable practices are becoming increasingly important in purchase decisions of marketing technologies.

SUMMARY

This conversation highlighted how technology can carve out advantages and amplify them, especially during a time of uncertainty and constant flux. That said, the human touch cannot be underestimated, as illustrated by the lack of visibility and monitoring during lead progression, a very important stage of the sales and marketing process.