VAR Marketing and the Importance of a Beachhead at the Start

Starting or extending a business is often a moment of great temptation in VAR marketing. With all the opportunities available, it’s difficult not to want to chase all of them. However, certain IT marketing principles need to be observed. One of these principles is the need to first establish a strong beachhead for a business start-up or expansion to succeed beyond the short-term.

Marketing Warfare

The term “beachhead” comes from military terminology. 

Similarly, marketing specialists sometimes refer to “marketing warfare” and “capturing” a market for a certain type of IT solution or service. 

In warfare as such, commanders know that attacking on a broad front can be costly, with a high risk of defeat, whereas focusing on a small area can secure a strong initial position that can be used for further advancement. The same is true in marketing.

Rules for Establishing a Beachhead

Marketing consultant Geoffrey Moore, author of several books on related marketing topics, offers advice on how to establish a marketing beachhead: 

1. Identify a market in which customers have a common need for what you offer, and in which they consult with each other before buying.

2. Focus on that market segment long enough to make a significant sales impact (possibly up to one year).

3. Build perception in that market that you are the leader in terms of the IT solutions that you provide. 

When your beachhead is sufficiently well established, you can start moving into other parts of the market as well. 

Have you ever felt you’ve bitten off more than you can chew in your VAR marketing? How did you solve that? Share your war stories with other readers in the Comments section.

And to follow-through on the tips introduced in this short article, download your free special report on the Top 10 IT Marketing Strategies for Consistently Attracting New Business Clients to Your Small IT Business.

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