Kutenda Shows Marketing Power through Marketing

November 12th, 2010 | Channelnomics | Author: Larry Walsh

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If you’re surfing for information about the channel, managed services or technology marketing, it’s kind of hard to miss the ads and links for Kutenda, a new kind of marketing service built for the channel by a channel veteran. What makes this company unique is its demonstrating the benefits of marketing through its own platform. And that benefit is nothing short of a dynamic business that’s growing at a hockey stick rate.

Kutenda is the brainchild of managed services savant Mike Cooch, the founder of Everon Technology Services. Cooch founded his successful MSP business in 2003 (sold toPlumChoice earlier this year) on the principle of aggregating disparate resources for the delivery of remote managed services to end users. This aggregation would keep costs low and profitability high. The model’s success was predicated on the funneling of a continuous stream of customers to adopt the services. And that’s where he discovered the value of marketing.

It didn’t take long for Cooch to notice how many of his MSP peers struggle with the marketing side of the business equation. The channel is known for its technology prowess, but not so much for marketing. He noted the lack of tools – professional Web sites, newsletters, lead generation engines – at the disposal of MSPs. From that seed, he grew Kutenda – the Swahili word for “act” – as a foundational set of Web-based tools that made marketing easier for managed service providers and VARs.

Kutenda has enjoyed a fair degree of success. Many managed service providers have adopted Kutenda as their platform for outbound communications with their customers, and as a lead-generation tool. But adoption hasn’t been as robust as Cooch and his compatriots had hoped. While Kutenda means “act,” the tools alone didn’t provide users with enough knowledge to take action. Missing was the knowledge and expertise that comes with marketing professionals and marketing agencies.

Managed service and solution providers with the ability to effectively use Kutenda’s tools sparked another “a-ha” idea. About six months ago, Cooch and his team decided to refocus the business around “marketing as a service.” They now provide full-service marketing programs and the tools to execute gear explicitly for small businesses. Kutenda provides its users with content (blogs, papers), social media guidance and materials, and creative content for newsletters, marketing and sales. Soon, Cooch says, Kutenda will facilitate Webinars and telemarketing for users. As Cooch says, Kutenda will stuff as many features and services into the pricing structure as possible.

And that’s part of the magic behind Kutenda: aggregation. Just as Cooch did with Everon, he’s compiling services that are typically cost-prohibitive to small businesses and making them more accessible in terms of usability and cost. MSPs and solution providers will get the same benefit of marketing through Kutenda at a fraction of the cost of some expensive marketing agency – or at least that’s the goal.

Cooch says Kutenda is experiencing explosive growth since the transition to a full-services marketing firm. And much of that growth is attributed to its own adept use of online marketing channels and resources. The attention Kutenda is getting enables the company to look beyond the IT industry and into other marketing for other verticals – such as health care and local insurance agencies.

Solution providers often question the return-on-marketing investment. All marketing comes with a risk, and it’s sometimes hard to trace the benefits to the investment. What Kutenda is demonstrating through its development are the benefits that come with marketing, as well as its ability to deliver results through an accessible marketing service.

To learn more about the Kutenda, please visit http://kutenda.com.