In “Part 1” of this topic I identified what I mean when I say most VAR websites are a disaster (low, slow adoption of marketing assets; and outdated, out-of-brand product content). And I noted the reason why the websites are in such bad shape (VARs simply have too much stuff on their plate, so website maintenance tends to fall off the edge and get neglected).

So here’s the part where I answer the original question:

• Question: How do you fix a bad VAR website?
• Answer: You don’t. You fix all of them.

Website Content Syndication
Website content syndication allows PTC to create website content for the VARs and then stream it directly to the every VAR website.

• Step 1: We take the key handful of marketing campaigns that every VAR should be deploying, and we stream them directly to every VAR’s website. We take core product content (standard description, PDF brochure, etc.), and we stream it directly to every VAR’s website.

• Step 2: When PTC creates new marketing campaigns, PTC can swap them into the syndication feed and the content is instantly updated on every VAR’s website. When PTC releases Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 6.0, PTC can swap out the Wildfire 5.0 content, and swap the new messaging and brochure into the syndication feed and the content is instantly updated on every VAR’s website.

Benefits for every VAR:

• Liberates every VAR from the burden of website maintenance …so they can focus on other critical marketing priorities.
• Populates each VAR website with professionally developed marketing and product content, to support their sales activities and to generate leads.
• Easy to set up (one line of code pasted onto one page of the VAR website — this line of code accepts the syndication stream).
• Ability for every VAR to manage the content that is syndicated to them (can opt out of content they don’t like, and can control the method by which leads flow to them).

Benefits for PTC:

• No more out-of-date, out-of-brand content proliferated on VAR websites.
• No more “whac-a-mole” exercise in chasing every VAR to adopt marketing campaigns and correct branding violations.
• Massive distribution of our “pure” marketing and product content.
• Liberates VARs from the burden of website maintenance …so they can focus on other critical marketing priorities.

Stay tuned to this space. My “Part 3” post will include live examples of this in action as we pilot this and roll it out.