Jason Beal on partner empathy, SMB cybersecurity opportunities, and more

Barracuda VP of Worldwide Partner Ecosystems Jason Beal recently joined Channext VP of Revenue Alex Whitford for the Partnerships Unraveled podcast where the two had a conversation about the different areas of channel marketing and partnerships. 

Some of the topics they discussed include:

• The importance of partners’ roles when it comes to prioritizing cybersecurity education for SMBs. Providing the necessary support and education is key for partners as small to mid-sized clients sometimes don’t possess sufficient resources or knowledge when investing in their cyber defense strategies. By acting as trusted advisors, partners can guide their SMB customers in the right direction, allowing them to focus on their own operational activities with peace of mind about cybercrime. 

   

• Keeping partner agility top of mind. Ensuring that there’s a balance between partners having the ability to be agile when doing business with customers while also maintaining a structure that will allow partners to be successful is an important point that comes into play.

• Different vendor strategies that help partners better engage with and support their customers/prospects. Part of this involves assisting partners who don’t have dedicated in-house marketing resources so that they can seize new program or channel opportunities. 

   

• A key ingredient to channel success — Partner Empathy. This is a long-running theme of Barracuda’s Partner Success Program. Jason touches on how vendors need to be able to see the world through partners’ eyes so that suppliers understand their partners’ business/financial goals and strategies that are critical for achieving long-lasting relationships and long-term success.

If you’re interested in listening to the full podcast, you can stream it on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.