(NOTE: This story was originally posted to CRN.com July 27.)

More Ammo For More Sales

Dell EMC's new digital marketing platform is designed to make lead generation - the lifeblood of any solution provider's marketing efforts - easier, giving the vendor's partners increased firepower for its sales forces.

According to Dell EMC, almost 70 percent of buyers' research is done online and the same proportion of that "buyer's journey" happens before the sales process ever starts, much of it conducted with the help of social media.

The new platform is designed to jump that circuit by putting online resources for content syndication, social media and other marketing campaign tactics in partners' hands for free as part of the company's partner portal.

The platform is an integral part of Dell EMC's Partner Marketing Institute launched in May by partner marketing chief Cheryl Cook. The effort aims to make marketing a simple, self-service affair while also making solution providers more social media savvy.