Introduction
Organizations around the world are changing the way they purchase the software and services they need to run their businesses. In the same way that individual consumers are turning to online e-commerce to buy everyday items such as household products, clothing, and groceries, businesses are shifting their IT purchases to online marketplaces.
E-commerce enables self-service. It lets customers choose from a wider range of products and services from providers around the world. E-commerce also helps customers make better purchasing decisions, with easy access to product information that they can use to compare benefits and prices for competing products. Overall, e-commerce helps customers shop more efficiently and make decisions at their own pace.
The Microsoft commercial marketplace addresses these trends, making it possible for your customers to easily find, try, and buy your software and services. By listing your products and services in the commercial marketplace, you can position your organization to take advantage of the changing customer purchasing preferences.
In this module, we'll explore some key go-to-market concepts you'll want to consider as you position your organization for success in the commercial marketplace. "Success" in the commercial marketplace is different for every organization, but common commercial marketplace objectives include:
Increasing sales revenue by selling to new customers in more than 140 countries/regions
Shortening your sales cycles by making it easier for customers to find, try, buy, and deploy your products
Lowering the cost of sales by generating customer leads from your marketplace listing
As you consider the concepts in this module, think about how you can apply them to develop a tailored plan for your company and the products and services you plan to list through Microsoft. Every organization is different, which means your strategy will need to be unique. You can use the material we'll cover in this module as a starting point for your unique plan.
Learning objectives
In this module, you'll:
- Identify ways to align the different departments in your organization.
- Learn best practices for optimizing your commercial marketplace offer.
- Learn about commercial marketplace sales channels.
- Learn how to access Marketplace Rewards benefits in Partner Center.