Microsoft has just launched a new website to help educate Microsoft Partners about digital marketing. The site, being called “Smart Partner Marketing” features a variety of video courses co-produced by Microsoft and IDC, articles and interactive pages that offer customized advice based on the participant’s certain business statistics such as employee size and marketing experience.
Microsoft Partner Network’s Senior Marketing Manager, Jennifer S. Tomlinson explains that the aim for this new project is to share experience with newer companies from more experienced ones who have already found solutions to their own problems. “The idea behind the Partner Marketing site is that some of the best learning comes from those who have “been there, done that” – successfully.” She continues, “The ideas we’ve captured are repeatable, scalable and applicable to other organizations and many build on the fundamentals of good marketing, with a new twist, digital delivery.”
While the website may look quite simple at first glance, there is a surprising amount of content beneath the surface, hidden behind several layers of slightly confusing menus and navigation options ranging from main menus, pull-down sorting options and interactive graphics.
To narrow down the content to the media that is relevant and easier to understand, visitors to the site are encouraged to use the pull-down option to choose from one of three main categories;
- Practical Marketing, for companies with fewer marketing resources who are looking to expand their marketing activities.
- Progressive Marketing, for companies with mid-sized marketing departments who are interested in increasing their marketing reach and impact.
- Sophisticated Marketing, for large marketing departments who are ready to create highly personal customer experiences.
Marketing can be difficult for many companies to fully understand, especially for those that can’t afford their own marketing department. Providing resources and testimonies from other companies and organizations who have experience in this area is not only an invaluable service on its own but by offering it for free online, makes marketing in general a lot more approachable and practical.
Will you be using Microsoft’s Smart Partner Marketing website? What do you think of it so far? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
