Background
Microsoft is one of the largest technology companies in the world. Since the launch of Office 365, Microsoft Azure cloud computing and the notable acquisitions of LinkedIn in December 2016 and Skype Technologies in May 2011, Microsoft has decidedly embraced the cloud. Microsoft wants its Business Partners around the world to do the same. Adopting the tech tools is not the issue. One of the most important steps is how they market themselves.
The brief
Microsoft saw UP as a unique agency that could help bring about a major change in the way its Partners market themselves and generate leads. Despite their technological prowess, many Microsoft Partner companies are still living in another era when it comes to marketing. Since UP is a marketing agency ‘born in the cloud’ (a Microsoft expression to describe companies that never owned a server) with members able to hold training sessions anywhere in the world, Microsoft saw us as the perfect agent of change.
Specifically, Microsoft wants hundreds of their Partners to adopt the process and power of inbound and content marketing. By making valuable content available through search results, and nurturing contacts to become customers, any business can achieve vastly improved sales conversion rates.
The solution
Microsoft Partners come in many different flavors, so setting up a tailored content marketing strategy for each of them was an ideal approach. Each Partner is trained on the principles of personas, the Buyer’s Journey, and what to write for each phase. We show them the power of infographics and film, the role of the blog and how to nurture contacts through automation. Each Partner operates a content strategy according to its specific expertise, which means that customers can find just the right vendor to solve their technology challenge. The marketing drives a lead stream for the Partners 24/7, 365 days a year.
