Journeys solve distributed marketers' biggest problem

As a corporate marketer, few things give you more heartburn than your owners/operators, franchisees, or distributors running around with your brand in their own local markets using it as they see fit, ignoring your well-thought out policies and procedures.

A single misused graphic, typo, or break in brand procedure can make a mess that sends your corporate marketing team into a time-wasting tizzy, burning up valuable innovation hours.The perils for corporate marketing brass here are many. Turn a blind eye and your brand takes a beating in Omaha. Push too hard and you risk losing support in Denver.Diplomacy will put out fires, but, it won't solve the larger source of your indigestion. It sure-as-heck won't help you leapfrog your competitors.The distributed marketing growth and innovation you so desperately crave as a corporate marketer is only possible through the thoughtful implementation of scalable technology, such as the new Distributed Marketing product from Salesforce.So, pop a Tums, and let's get to work.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/embed/1rc44QVFbHs[/embed]In short, “Distributed Marketing” enables corporate marketers to create and deploy best-practice consumer journeys to advisors, owners, and partners using “Journey Builder.” Journey Builder is Salesforce's journey management tool that enables marketers to create targeted, 1-to-1 journeys across channels and devices.Building journeys on behalf of your owners comes with a flurry of benefits for corporate, including locking down the certain pieces of the communication that shouldn't be touched and pre-populating email text and messaging to save the operator production time.“But, what about autonomy? They'll complain the messaging is too corporate!”Not an issue. The “Distributed Marketing” platform allows advisors, owners, and partners to edit each message sent within the journey to deliver a personalized communication that fits the contact and the market. In-market businesses can select/approve/reject/edit the messages, which arrive in inboxes and on phones as though they were sent directly from the partner.

Distributed Marketing is firm with corporate needs, while being flexible at the ground level.“Well, that's nice,” you say, feeling the heartburn recede a bit. “But, I need more specifics on journeys.”The certified Salesforce Marketing Cloud consultants at Horizontal Integration have been building in Journey Builder for years and our strategy team has decades of experience empowering distributed marketers. We have a few time-tested journey ideas that would serve as a great start for any corporate marketer trying to do well on behalf of his or her franchisees.The Acquisition journey: Leads that don't get followed up are possibly the biggest source of untapped revenue for most businesses. A targeted email/SMS/Digital ad journey to this segment of your business' will get them back on the phone and back in the office. This journey drives new business on behalf of your franchisee, plain and simple. Build it, and they will come.The Onboarding Journey: So you have signed a new client - congrats! Now the hard part begins. How do you ensure that they have an on-brand, blue chip experience from day 1 with your advisor? The onboarding journey maps out all of the key touchpoints in the first few months of the customer experience and positions the business in a flattering light, as proscribed by corporate, but, delivered by the local office. Timing is key on this one - get onboarding right and retention issues dissipate.The Retention journey: For whatever reasons, some good clients fade away over time. Often, this isn't out of malice toward your business, but, they have simply forgotten about you. The retention journey targets those customers with whom your affiliates haven't interacted with in a while and reminds them all of the amazing things you do. Done correctly, this journey will spike repeat business. Why spend all your time and energy fighting for new customers, when former customers are ready and willing to (re)open their wallets. You just need to remind them.So, how's your stomach?Horizontal Integration Salesforce consultants carry multiple certifications in the Salesforce Marketing Cloud and are able to provide strategic guidance on how to build journeys at scale for distributed marketers. Contact us for a free distributed marketing consultation.