Go-to-market strategy 101 – Amanda Holmes, EMEA & APAC marketing director

UK-based Amanda Holmes, EMEA and APAC marketing director at Alaris, a Kodak Alaris business, recently joined Carlota Pico to talk about all things channel marketing. They also discussed go-to-market strategies and what it’s like working across an abundance of markets throughout the EMEA and APAC regions. Additionally, Amanda shared the importance of asking “why” when making strategy decisions, simple marketing tips that yield successful results and advice on keeping your brand consistent.

You can watch the full conversation in the video above or on YouTube, listen to the podcast on Apple and Spotify, and read our recap below.

Key takeaways

When working with a smaller, privately held entity of a bigger company, the main task at hand involves taking the direction that the global network has provided and translating it into a go-to-market strategy for execution across the smaller markets.

When it comes to go-to-market strategies, you have to understand what your go-to-market is and then build your goals and objectives around that. You must always ask yourself what you are trying to achieve and then make plans that align appropriately.

Channel marketing comes with its fair share of advantages and disadvantages. A main advantage is being able to increase your reach within the market, and a main challenge is making a consistent brand message without diluting it too much.

You can keep your brand consistent, no matter which partner is promoting your services, by having a solid strategy, a robust partner program and strong account management. You must get your tierings correct and offer the right benefits to the right partners.

Kodak Alaris uses a sophisticated setup consisting of a partner relationship management (PRM) system that feeds into a CRM (customer relationship management) system. This allows them to measure how well they’re performing across channels in order to optimize campaigns.

The magic formula in marketing is making sure you’re visible to the right people at the right time.

Rapid-fire recs

What’s an app or tool that you recommend?

I’d have to say Amazon! Or the Sainsbury’s app—which is a grocery store here in the UK. What would I do without “click and collect”?

A source of inspiration?

I get a lot of inspiration from B2B marketing groups across various social platforms, for instance B2BMarketing.net and Hot Topics. I love them for the insight they provide and because they help you realize you’re not alone in your challenges—other people share the same struggles! Connecting with like-minded people gives you confidence, assurance and inspiration.

A valuable resource, event or group?

I’d recommend a book called “Fix It: Getting Accountability Right” by Roger Connors and Tom Smith, which is all about accountability and addressing blame culture in workplaces, and how to get rid of it by taking more accountability.

Another great book is “Smarketing: How to Achieve Competitive Advantage Through Blended Sales and Marketing” by Tim Hughes, which gets into the alignment of sales and marketing and how to look at your strategy with a blended approach.

Connect with Amanda and Carlota on LinkedIn.

This post was edited by Mary Kresge, a freelance content creator based in Madrid.