Solution Provider Bedroc Leverages Exciting Marketing Tactics To Gain Ground With Potential Clients

Harnessing the power of marketing in the channel can often be difficult. While the same, old meet-and-greet luncheons and daylong symposiums can be dull, solution provider Bedroc approaches marketing as an out-of-the-box experience.

Currently the Nashville, Tenn.-based Cisco, EMC and Riverbed-focused solution provider stays on top of marketing with limited social media and blog posts (to avoid spamming) and lunch meetings. However, recently introducing potential partners and existing contacts to skeet shooting and go-kart has been beneficial, said Todd Plambeck, vice president of technology at Bedroc.

"Traditional stuff just didn’t work, that's the easiest thing to say," said Plambeck. "Taking clients out to meetings or events and doing lunch is honestly boring, and we decided we need something bigger and better to target to specific people."

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Although it is a corporate marketing event, Plambeck receives nothing but positive feedback, he said. Bedroc currently does one major event a term.

"They know that it's a marketing event, but they know there is fun at the end of the rainbow," said Plambeck. "[With] skeet shooting, we targeted that to five people; they are higher-ups and when we get out, we feel confident to spend quality time with them."

Today, the go-kart events entail doing one round around the track and if they want to do more, prospective clients will listen to a 30-minute informational session and then continue to do three more go-kart rounds, said Plambeck.

"We went with one race up beforehand so they get loosened up to the marketing," said Plambeck. "Starting off with a presentation would be a different story; they won't have a big smile because they're not going 60 miles per hour."

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In addition, as the solution provider is based in Nashville, country music is very popular, said Plambeck. It has inspired Bedroc to bring different partners and potential clients to the CMA Awards concert events.

"We're very country-music-centered here in Nashville, so we have clients and different partners old and new come in over the four-day period," said Plambeck. "We are right off the stage, and they really love it. Even if we don't get to talk much, it's fine cause it’s not a full-on-bore marketing event. They appreciate it, and we get our name out there."

From a business perspective, doing more exciting, unexpected marketing events helps to spark conversations and keep them going with new contacts, said Plambeck.

"It’s only been a quarter-and-half since our go-karting events, and now we're having conversations with people that we haven't had conversations before," said Plambeck. "They are coming back to talk to us especially about application monitoring, and we're seeing a lot of movement there."

For the future, Bedroc's marketing strategy will continue to reinforce fun-type events to gain new partnerships and deals, said Plambeck.

"We are getting our name out there, and new clients are coming back to talk to us," said Plambeck. "Also, Nashville is getting a new triple A baseball field and trying to get some sponsorships with our name out there."

PUBLISHED MARCH 14, 2014