Customer: Microsoft Learning, USA
Microsoft Learning builds innovative learning products that enable you to make the most of your investment in Microsoft technology. Microsoft Learning offer a diverse range of products, including classroom training, e-learning, certification, Microsoft Press books, skills assessments, and more.
The Challenge
Microsoft Learning has a worldwide network of Certified Partners for Learning Solutions (CPLS). These partners specialize in selling and conducting Microsoft training and certifications.
To support the CPLSÔÇÖs sales and marketing activities, Microsoft Learning produces a wide range of marketing materials, such as campaign collateral, product flyers, banners, and other content for the CPLSÔÇÖs websites. Each CPLS Partner wanted to customize and add their own brand to the marketing material, so Microsoft Learning faced the challenge of how to make it easy for the partners to do that without having to do it for them or give them access to the original design files.
Microsoft Learning also faced the challenge of how to instruct the CPLS partners on the intent and use of each component in a marketing campaign and how the provided materials could be used most efficiently and for which audiences.
In addition, Microsoft Learning needed a place to provide information to educate CPLS employees on how to sell the Microsoft Learnings products, what the key benefits were, and what products were in the pipeline.
The Solution
To address the demand for easy customizable marketing and sales materials with the need for delivering product information and sales training to the CPLS partners, Skills Creator built an online marketing portal for Microsoft Learning called Microsoft Learning Campaign Factory. This portals presents a campaign area with in-depth information on how to conduct each of the current marketing campaigns, as well of a Bill of Materials area where each of the marketing components could be downloaded and customized so that each CPLS partner could add their own contact details, logo, and other relevant information.
We addressed the need for product information and product pipeline awareness, as well as the need for sales training for CPLS employees,  by integrated this content into the solution, making the portal a One-Stop-Shop for all marketing and sales-related information and materials for the CPLS partners.
Over time, we continued to develop the portal’s functionality as we saw opportunities to add value. Today, all relevant Live Meetings,┬ápartner conference registrations, and special marketing events are handled from the portal. The portal also provides KPI figures and reporting for each CPLS partner.
The Result
Microsoft Learning uses the Campaign Factory as the main vehicle for all partner-related communication, campaign information and materials, and sales training. Each month, thousands of CPLS partners visit and use the resources on the portal.
Becuse of the Campaign Factory, Microsoft Learning achieved a faster turnaround on their partner communication than any other Microsoft division. They were also able to develop closer relationships with their partners than other divisions.
For the CPLS partners, using the Campaign Factory gives them a much better overview of current marketing campaigns and related materials and easy access to relevant information on product pipelines and their own performance as a CPLS partner.
