In the closing session of Cisco’s Marketing Velocity event, the company reflected on 10 years of change, made some announcements around Partner Marketing Central and looked ahead at the future of marketing as a discipline as digital, social and branding collide.
April 27, 2017
Image Gallery: Cisco Marketing Velocity
By Lorna Garey
“Thirty percent of your shareholder value is your brand,” said Karen Walker, Cisco’s SVP and CMO. ”If you didn’t believe that, look at United.”
In Thursday’s closing session of Cisco’s invitation-only Marketing Velocity event, Walker and emcee Michelle Chiantera, Cisco’s VP, Global Partner Marketing,
reflected on 10 years of change, made some announcements around Partner Marketing Central and looked ahead at the future of marketing as a discipline as digital, social and branding collide. Get a recap of previous sessions here, and listen in on our one on on with Wendy Bahr, SVP, Cisco Global Partner Organization.“How are we going to differentiate ourselves, how are you going to deliver the most compelling experience to your customer?” Walker asked. “Customer experience will be the brand differentiator, more than price.”
She reiterated the need to closely align sales and marketing and said Cisco has made some internal changes:
Moving the company’s web presence from a publishing platform and toward an engagement engine. “I measure my team on engagement, not click through,” she said.
Providing sales teams with greater insights to accrete the sales process.
A focus on continual engagement. “Cisco loves events,” said Walker. “We love launches, too.” But she, and partners, must move away from “interrupt-driven marketing.”
A global focus, including launching a campaign in New Zealand and “following the sun.” Attendees at the event included EMEA and Australian partners.
Fewer thought-leadership campaigns, more around “stuff we have to sell.”
Emphasis on telling end customer stories. Walker cited Mercy Virtual, a health-care provider that added a telemedicine practice. The story is optimistic — building on the idea of appealing to customer emotions.
Maybe the most dramatic shift? Allowing end customers to post reviews of Cisco products and services.
Walker encouraged attendees to access online learning resources and announced new live regional conferences and additional Partner Marketing Central enablement assets.
Chad Reese, director, Partner Digital Marketing, walked through a live demo of some new PMC features, including personalization and desired business outcomes for each partner, with recommendations; unfinished assets and copy building blocks so partners can customize campaigns; a firewalled – from both other partners and Cisco – contacts database; a consolidated funding view of all the programs a partner is participating in, along with an easy way to invest those dollars in digital demand generation; direct links to Sales Connect; and a global network of digital agencies to add predictive analytics and social listening services.