Today’s marketing environment is one which we have all been dreaming about for years.  We have more data, more targeting opportunities and more engagement than ever before.  However, one BIG segment of the marketing population has been left out of this revolution, the local marketer. 

The reality of today’s marketing environment is that we have moved from art to science, and technology plays a significant role in this new era.  The problem is that most of  your local partners –do not have the time or the technical expertise to take advantage of this brave new world.  In the past this was not a big deal because audiences were concentrated and the local marketer did not need either strategic or technical sophistication to be successful.  Today that is not the case.  With our highly fragmented and technical marketing landscape, it is much harder for your local partners to be successful in their marketing efforts. 

That leaves you with one massive issue.  How can you, as a national brand, leverage all of this sophisticated technology at the national level and then knowingly risk losing the customer at the final stages of the buying process because your local partner is not able to meaningfully engage in the process . 

If you are not highly focused on local marketing, that is exactly what you are doing.  You are leaving the most important part of the sales process up to chance.  The last mile has always played a key role in the sales process – but it has never been more important for you to be focused on helping your channel partners be successful in this age of technical marketing.