How to write for the rapidly changing technology channel

Today's businesses are undergoing their most significant changes in a century. Digital technology has matured and expanded to such a degree that it now forms the foundation of successful futures for companies—popularly referred to as digital transformation. 

Yet a simple phrase belies a complex and often maddening transition. Digitising a company is about more than buying the right software or computers. The shift includes people, skills, culture, infrastructure, and business processes; if it's got a role in a company, digital impacts it. 

Success in the technology channel—the companies and people who offer different technology products and services—hinges on delivering parts of that transformation. This covers software and hardware, business consulting, training, and numerous specialised areas. It requires talking to diverse audiences, from techies and engineers to procurement and governance teams, and the all-important C-Suite. The better channel companies can spread their message and engage with different audiences, the more successful those digital transformation outcomes are. 

Every writer who creates copy for the technology channel carries part of that responsibility. They must cross the divide between a channel company and its audience. They might target a very technical audience, yet as often translate technology concepts to business audiences. Sometimes their copy helps decision-makers sell their ideas, suggest best practices, or demonstrate success stories. 

Good technology channel writing is not just about products and services. It's also about tackling the challenges of digital transformation, sharing ideas, and explaining the philosophy and culture behind a digital world.   

What is the technology channel?  

As with all good writing, you have to understand your audience. The technology channel represents companies that supply technology-related products and services to end customers. For this piece, we'll limit the focus to companies that provide business solutions instead of consumer products. 

We can define the following channel groups (hold onto your hat, there are quite a few):  

• Resellers: companies that sell a product to an end user. 

• Value-added resellers (VARs): companies that enhance a product that it sells, such as by adding features or support contracts. 

• Distributors: companies that supply products from vendors to resellers and VARs. They typically don't sell directly to end users.  

• Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs): companies that make individual parts that vendors use to create products or services. It's common to refer to technology OEMs as vendors, and the terms are often used interchangeably. 

• Vendors: companies that make original technology products, typically by combining parts from OEMs and their own products.  

• Cloud Vendors: vendors that specialise in creating cloud products. 

• Systems Integrators/Solution Providers (SIs): companies that take vendor products, services, and software, and configure them to the specific needs of an end user, such as a business. 

• Cloud Solutions Providers (CSPs): companies that provide similar services as resellers and SIs, but focus on cloud products, such as email, storage, or virtual machines that they procure from cloud vendors.  

• Managed Service Providers (MSPs): companies that rent services, typically software, at subscription rates to end users, including features such as support. If you pay for online storage or email, you're using an MSP. 

• Independent Software Vendor (ISVs): companies that create software, or bits of software, that vendors, SIs and resellers reuse for their products. 

Some channel companies, such as OEMs and vendors, tend to stay in their lane. Others, especially SIs and resellers, can offer more than one type of service. For example, it's not unusual for an SI to offer managed services, or a distributor also to be a CSP. 

Writing for the technology channel  

Channel writing can be very broad or specific. A piece of content can articulate a series of challenges, or hone in on a specific issue business customers might experience. Content can promote and market products, focus on advisory (thought leadership), offer experience, support sales and customer support teams, or mix it up. The nature of a piece matters: a thought leader column is ideal to try and land coverage in a national newspaper, while a case study is perfect for handouts during meetings with a lead. 

It's important to understand what outcome the content will meet, selecting content formats that work for the audience you’re targeting and the medium through which they’re accessing it.

These could include: 

• Blogs, opinion pieces, and thought leadership articles  
• Social media content (paid and organic)  
• Technical content (for installers or customers, for example)  
• Sales and marketing presentations  
• Post-sales materials like user guides or self-help customer support content  
• Sales enablement materials like cheat sheets, competitor decks, value proposition docs, etc
• Digital marketing content like digital advertising, landing pages, website copy, emailers  
• Editorial or advertorial content  
• Press releases  

Look at what the technology client does (or wants to promote), who they want to reach, and what problems concern the audience.   

Examples of technology channel writing  

Let's conclude by looking at how you would implement these principles, using the example of a CRM provider. CRM systems keep customers' information, making it easier for sales and marketing teams to support current customers, and find new business. The CRM channel client wants to find new leads, using your copy to get the word out. 

First, who is the audience? The CRM product is cloud-based and appeals to companies that want to replace their current CRM systems. This creates the narrative: replace your CRM with a new cloud alternative. But why should they replace their CRM? The selling points can include that it's cheaper and faster, and they only pay for what they use. Such a CRM will also help their people work faster and smarter with better results. Even if you aren't writing about what the channel company offers, it's worth studying that information to help establish context. 

Next, who is the audience? The CRM company wants to reach business decision-makers and the product's users. In this case, let's say the decision-makers are finance (who pays for the software), IT (who runs and manages the software), and the users are sales and marketing. 

We have what we need to decide on style and format. A writing project can vary depending on the number of content pieces—let's say we want to create one piece for each of the four groups, and develop a suite of sales, marketing and PR content that would reach each audience through a variety of media: 

• To reach finance, we could write articles, emailers and social posts highlighting cloud software's cost savings.
• To reach IT, we author a use case from the CRM provider's current customer pool to demonstrate deployment, supported by a LinkedIn marketing campaign targeting this audience.
• For marketing and sales, we create blogs, press releases, mailers and brochures that talk about the CRM software's features that will interest those groups.  

In each case, we look for the value that the audience wants—what is their problem, and how will this product solve that problem? Finance wants to save money and boost productivity. IT wants good software that doesn't create extra work, or headaches. Sales and marketing want those features that help them work faster and smarter. 

Get into the headspace of who you're targeting. Know what the technology provider does, whom they target, and to which problems that audience needs answers. Then decide on the appropriate styles and formats. Align these elements, and you are on your way to writing effective and compelling copy for the technology channel.

To find out how we can help you compete in this rapidly evolving environment, get in touch.