“More conversion, website traffic, and structure: working with boost your business has really paid off”
Need
Platani approached marketing communications in a rather pragmatic way. Seminars and LinkedIn promotions were organized haphazardly: one year, the company attended several events and engaged in SEA activities, and the next, nothing happened. In other words, Platani lacked structure in terms of marketing. But when the company came up with a new strategy, things needed to change. In the coming years, Platani intends to double in size, which requires a solid marketing foundation and a well-structured approach.
Solution
Some of Platani’s propositions had gained a spot in Microsoft’s One Commercial Partner Catalogue. As a result, Microsoft referred Platani to the Boost your Business program, offered by Dutch agency Make Marketing Magic. An introductory meeting immediately clarified the benefits: every 2 weeks, Platani would share a relevant, branch- specific blog with the world, putting itself out there so people would get acquainted with the company name. It sounded perfect. Soon after that first meeting, Platani boarded the Boost your Business train.
Boost your Business: benefits at a glance
- Higher conversion rate, increased traffic to the website, and more requests resulting from blogs
- Support and advice from a skilled content writer and an experienced marketing manager
- Smooth, hassle-free onboarding process and collaboration
- Understanding of your core business because of the program’s exclusive focus on Microsoft Partners
- Increased commitment and structure enhance sales and marketing efforts
“Boost your Business has noticeably increased our brand awareness, and it has exponentially enhanced website traffic,” says Jeffrey te Kloese, sales manager at Platani.
“Sharing information with people in our branch has really paid off. Before embarking on this content journey, people regularly told us they’d never heard of us before. But now, our company name is known and recognized. I think a lot of it has to do with us being more visible. Our inbound traffic has significantly increased because of a powerful combination: a structured approach and relevant content.”
“People respond to our blogs’ calls to action”
Gearing the blog content to customers’ needs has proven to be an effective strategy. “Our conversion rate has increased,” says Jeffrey. “Besides more website traffic, we get more requests that result directly from the blogs. For example, when we describe a quick scan or security scan and end the blog with a clear-cut call to action, people respond to it.” Currently, Platani’s campaign focuses on generating more business from existing customers. But new plans are being made: “We’ll soon start targeting prospects, too.”
Receiving the support of a content writer is reassuring: “It offers a lot of added value. Writing content can be a day job. But now that we work with Make Marketing Magic, all we have to do is pick blog topics and plan interviews with our content writer. She sends us solid drafts, and after a round of feedback, the blogs are good to go.” The marketing manager, too, unburdens Platani in noteworthy ways: “He understands our business really well and has extensive marketing knowledge. During our monthly call, we discuss the status quo as well as next steps, all of which are subsequently measured. It’s an ongoing process”
What Jeffrey particularly likes is Make Marketing Magic’s hands-on approach, which became clear early on: “The onboarding process of a marketing campaign can be daunting, but with Boost your Business, it hasn’t been. We provided Make Marketing Magic with a list of customers and prospects – our prospective newsletter readers. Writing and sending out correct opt-in emails can be quite the hassle, but Make Marketing Magic helped us a great deal. Additionally, our marketing manager created a buyer persona – a detailed profile of our ideal customer – for us, so we could write all future content with a specific person in mind.”
About Platani
For the past 20 years, Platani has been the go-to expert at designing, building, and managing complex IT infrastructures. Its sweet spot: complexity. Both profit and non-profit organizations benefit from Platani’s ability to tackle infrastructure-related intricacies. With approximately 60 employees, Platani helps 180-200 active customers. A classical project looks a bit like this: Platani discusses functional requirements with the customer, maps out everything, creates a technical design, builds it (based on the most suitable technology, which is usually Citrix), and takes on infrastructure management.
“Boost your Business provides a tailor-made, hands-on, branch-specific approach that unburdens us and books results!”
If Jeffrey would have to capture the Boost your Business program in a pithy way, he’d use the term ‘organization 2.0.’ “We get to work with practical, young professionals who give considerable effort to contribute ideas. What really helps is that the program focuses on Microsoft Partners – the marketing agency you work with has quite some experience and knowledge on IT, which means it can use its intellectual property while working with you.”
To Jeffrey, the future looks bright: “The click- through ratio of our blogs is high, and a significant number of people read our content. Our next step is to create structure topic-wise. We want to introduce recurring themes and define pillars that can serve as guidelines for our content. Of course, we’ve discussed this with Make Marketing Magic, and we’ll receive the necessary support in these endeavors.”
When asked whether he would recommend Boost your Business to other Microsoft Partners, Jeffrey doesn’t hesitate a second: “Absolutely. It enhances commitment to marketing activities and provides structure. Moreover, it enriches your sales and marketing efforts, which are crucial to every company’s strategy. And if you have any financial concerns – well, it’s co-funded, so what are you waiting for?”