Many VARs and ISV organizations don’t have a marketing department.
Some have a single person wearing multiple hats. Others have no formal marketing role at all. Yet nearly all face the same reality: they still need to earn attention, build trust, and generate demand in a competitive market.
To pressure-test what actually works in this environment, I recently asked five VAR and ISV marketers I know and trust to share how marketing is really functioning inside their organizations today. The patterns were telling—and reassuring for anyone operating without a full team.
The takeaway is simple: effective marketing in 2026 is less about scale and polish, and more about focus, clarity, and proximity to the customer.
Thank you to Shannon Moyes, VP of Sales and Marketing at Volanté Systems, Mike Bloomstine, Sr. Director of Marketing at MCPC, Crystal Barrineau, Creative Director at OrderCounter, and Keith Anderson, Director of Marketing at Retail Control Systems for providing input.
The Reality on the Ground (From the Channel Itself)
Before getting into the “how,” it’s worth grounding this in a few realities surfaced from those conversations:
- word of mouth remains the #1 source of new opportunity
- trade shows still outrank paid and organic social, webinars, and other tactics for brand awareness
- the majority of new business is sales-led
- roughly 70% report marketing budgets staying flat or having no formal budget at all
- only 1 in 5 has a full-time designer or video editor on staff
- the biggest challenge cited: marketing and sales alignment
- a recurring theme: the need to get more specific with market focus and messaging
In other words, most teams are operating lean, sales-driven, and without excess resources—yet are still expected to deliver results.
That context matters, because it explains why the following principles work.
You Must Pick a Market Segment
Singular focus isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s survival.
Even companies with dedicated marketing teams struggle to clearly address multiple industries at once. Without one, broad positioning almost always collapses into vague messaging that fails to stick.
The marketers I spoke with echoed this repeatedly: getting more specific—about who they serve and what problems they solve—was one of the most impactful changes they’ve made.
Choosing a market segment:
- sharpens your messaging
- simplifies content creation
- strengthens word of mouth
- makes your sales story repeatable
You can still sell into adjacent markets. But your marketing needs a clear front door.
Focus doesn’t reduce opportunity. It concentrates it.
Modern Channels Are Uncomfortable—and Necessary
Despite trade shows and word of mouth leading awareness, digital presence still plays a critical supporting role. Buyers research quietly. Partners vet credibility online. Prospects look for proof long before they reach out.
Yet social media anxiety remains a real blocker, especially for smaller teams.
Here’s the important reframing: You don’t need to “do social media well.”
You need to show up usefully.
That means:
- simple LinkedIn posts
- short videos explaining real-world scenarios
- photos or clips from installs
- lessons learned in the field
You’re not competing with creators or influencers. You’re competing with competitors who say nothing at all.
In a channel where silence is common, clarity stands out.
Treat Documentation as a Core Business Function
If word of mouth is the top growth driver, documentation is the fuel that scales it.
Your team is already doing the hard work of installing, integrating, troubleshooting and optimization technology solutions.
But without capturing those realities, the wins disappear the moment the job is done. Documentation doesn’t require formal case studies or heavy production. It can be:
- a few photos from an install
- a 30-second walkthrough video
- notes on what problem was solved
- outcomes that mattered to the customer
Social proof consistently came up as a critical gap—not because results weren’t happening, but because they weren’t being recorded.
If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen to your next buyer.
Decide Who You Are—and Show It Clearly
Big, well-known brands and category leaders can afford high-level messaging. Smaller ones can’t.
Agree internally on your brand personality, your point of view on the industry and your place within it. Document the tone and style with which your company will speak to the market.
Then show it consistently.
This is where smaller teams can outperform larger ones. You can move faster, speak more plainly, and show the humans behind the work.
Memorable beats polished. Every time.
Accept the Long Game
When asked to summarize their philosophy heading into 2026, one marketer put it this way:
“Go bigger, test smarter, and stay closer to the customer. In 2026, our philosophy is to tell clearer stories, try bold ideas, and keep proving that flexible, open solutions win.”
Others emphasized patience and precision:
“Long game—sell on value, build trust, show accurate comparisons between us and competitors, and refine messaging to ensure we are resonating with our target audience.”
"We are planning to niche down our focus to a smaller number of industries we market to."
"...PEOPLE (not persona) targeting approach. Getting granular with attribution. Getting aligned with sales. Buyer Group Marketing at the PERSON level where we can understand what our key targets search for, what their environments look like, and how we can show value to them when they're trying to 'unplug'. .."
The perspectives align on the same point: clarity beats volume, and trust compounds over time.
A Minimal Playbook for Lean Teams
If resources are tight, focus on a few fundamentals:
- choose one primary market segment
- document real customer work to amplify throughout your marketing
- share one useful insight per week
- arm sales with clear stories
- speak plainly and consistently
Do this for a year and you will out-market most of the channel—without adding headcount.
