Changing technology is impacting every industry, and perhaps no group is better poised to take advantage of the evolution than media companies who provide digital solutions to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Armed with a trusted brand and a history of local advertising and promotional success, they are in a position for transitioning their business to digital-minded empires.
At present, advertising and promotions are still sought out by SMEs, but marketing is quickly outpacing traditional media sales. Business owners are looking for a single solution for their digital needs, and media groups are already trusted advisors. This is where a company like Vendasta is building its business; providing end-to-end marketing and sales tools for media companies and other channel partners who sell solutions to local business clients.
Complete Solutions for Local Marketing Problems
Formed in 2008, Vendasta was established as a tool for marketing agency and media company to specifically help SME clients with their digital reputation. It expanded over the course of a decade to provide comprehensive digital marketing solutions to meet those clients’ needs. Today, the Vendasta platform includes automated lead generation and pipeline management, along with white label products and selling services. It enables the companies to access a single login for SME clients’ needs. The local business clients are then able to access enabled products running the scope of the digital marketing stack and beyond from their own business-facing dashboard bearing the name of their trusted media provider.
Vendasta’s Unique White-label Platform
While channel partners and SMEs may be familiar with Vendasta’s tools, the local businesses and some of the channel partners’ employees would not have seen Vendasta’s name at all, as the platform is rebranded by each partner. Further, the leading digital marketing company only sells to professional channel partners and never directly to SMEs. This helps channel partners increase their revenue and profit. The white-label solutions also allow fast and secure scaling of businesses with a focus on client retention.
The Vendasta platform is comprised of comprehensive features like the Snapshot Report, an automated insight tool for salespeople to highlight opportunities for improving clients’ digital performance. The tool is linked with a channel partner’s online marketing automation, allowing media companies to run campaigns directly from the platform, where they receive alerts on prospects who are ready to buy. The platform’s Sales and Success Center shows which solutions the client’s prospect are interested in, and the SME-facing Business Center automatically sends detailed reports to channel partners’ clients, providing proof-of-performance in an easily accessible way.
Present Efforts will Provide Bright Future
The majority of Vendasta’s channel partners are situated in the U.S., but its business is quickly expanding to international markets. It continuously refines its platform, expanding its product offering to include new trusted third-party vendors in its Marketplace. Currently, the Marketplace includes marketing, sales, and general office management tools, which complement the platform’s marketing automation tools, easy-to-use CRM, and in-house white-label fulfillment agency. Vendasta’s Marketplace of products ranges from advertising, online reputation, digital listings, SEO, social marketing, content, websites, and more. As the software develops, the company is planning to include legal, point of sale, insurance, and many more productivity and operations solutions.
Leader with a Client-focused Attitude
Leader with a Client-focused AttitudeVendasta CEO Brendan King has been with the company since the beginning, and is charged with balancing big picture planning with an eye to the finer details of running a multinational company. It’s a position he’s comfortable in, as the founder of two other successful companies. He is passionate about making Vendasta the leading provider of essential brand management products.
King and his team develop the Vendasta Platform to assist channel partners—like media companies, marketing agencies, telecommunications groups, and directories—in driving down the cost of sales and increasing margins. Vendasta’s research shows that the most successful channel partners are ones who sell two or more solutions to their customers, resulting in higher SME retention rates. King references the research often, knowing that a partner’s success in implementing the platform and its products is a win shared with Vendasta. “When our channel partners see improvements in their margins and higher retention, we all win,” said King. “That means that we have a very high interest in ensuring their success.”
With a Great Team We Can Do a Lot
With a Great Team We Can Do a LotKing is focused on attracting and retaining top talent, which he sees as a key focus for ensuring the Canada-based company’s success. He makes sure that everyone working at Vendasta understands its core values as a company—drive, innovation, respect, and agility—while driving toward the company’s mission of becoming the number one platform for selling digital solutions to local businesses.
Teamwork is essential for high performance in any firm or business, and the impact of teamwork is greater than the sum of individual efforts. Tapping unique perspectives and radical feedback can help a business grow more effectively. Vendasta is conscious of this and works hard to create a comfortable working environment that drives employees to achieve ambitious goals. The company provides hot breakfasts, lunches and catered meals on Fridays. It also allows for flexible work schedules and the ability to work from home when necessary. A social committee helps balance work with fun, planning exciting events inside and outside of regular hours. To conclude, King asserts, “These are little things, but they help us develop as a growing team and the efforts make life a bit easier. If our team is happy, then they pass that on to our channel partners too.”
