A new logo does not erase an old experience
When a partner has already tried a product and walked away disappointed, another presentation has a difficult job. The person across the table is comparing the pitch with a memory. Better adjectives are unlikely to win that argument.
At RSPA RetailNOW, Audrey Hogan addresses that problem directly. Speaking with Beck at the LINGA booth, she describes the work of getting partners to reconsider a product they may believe they already know. Her account includes changed leadership, product work and a stronger focus on the partner channel. The interesting part is how she connects that story to specific operating choices.
She does not pretend earlier experiences were all someone else’s fault. Hogan discusses hardware and software issues that she says affected the company’s reputation. Her job in marketing, as she describes it, is to explain the changes and encourage another look. That is a different assignment from asking people to forget what happened.
The distinction is useful for any hospitality technology company attempting a reset. Trust requires evidence that connects the earlier problem to a different process or product. A refreshed identity can introduce the conversation, but the next installation has to support it.
Support begins with what you agree to support
One of Hogan’s clearest examples is hardware. She explains that allowing partners to bring their own devices had sometimes produced poorly matched configurations and difficult experiences. She says LINGA narrowed the approach to certified hardware so the company could more confidently support the combined system.
That choice illustrates a real tradeoff. More device freedom can seem attractive at purchase time, particularly when a merchant already owns equipment. A narrower supported range may reduce uncertainty about the conditions in which the software runs. Neither consideration should remain hidden in the sales conversation.
For an operator or reseller, the practical question is which exact configurations the vendor stands behind. Ask what has been tested, what support includes and what happens when a component needs replacement. A statement that a device runs the right operating system is not the same as confirmation that the whole setup is supported.
Hogan describes several form factors for different uses, including terminals, mobile devices and kiosks. The value of that variety depends on matching the equipment to the task while keeping the support promise clear. A busy restaurant needs fewer ambiguous exceptions, not merely more ways to assemble a system.
Give partners something they can actually use
Beck compares supporting a channel partner with giving a franchise operator a practical playbook. The partner needs more than permission to sell. Materials, product knowledge and dependable support all affect whether the business can represent the offering well.
Hogan’s answer is enablement. She describes making marketing collateral and campaigns available so partners can use the work with their own merchants. She also emphasizes education, particularly when a product has changed enough that someone’s previous understanding is no longer useful.
That is a grounded marketing assignment. A reseller may understand its local customers extremely well without having the time or staff to create every campaign from scratch. Useful vendor resources reduce that burden. They also need to be accurate and adaptable enough for the partner’s actual market, rather than simply filling a shared folder.
She discusses referral, reseller and white-label options as part of LINGA’s channel approach, alongside payment choice. Those are descriptions from the interview, not a substitute for reviewing a current agreement. A prospective partner should connect each model to who sells, who supports, who owns the relationship and how the parties work together after launch.
Make feedback a route to a decision
Hogan tells Beck about bringing a former reseller through a demonstration and seeing that person become interested in another conversation. It is an anecdote about one response, not proof that every past concern has been resolved. Its value is the method: put the changed product in front of someone with relevant experience and let them examine it.
She also describes a partner board that brings recurring problems and requests to leadership, along with plans for a merchant board. The latter is presented here as a plan discussed at the time, not an independently verified current program. Both ideas address the same need: shorten the distance between operating feedback and the people who can act on it.
For partners evaluating a second chance, the next step can be specific. Revisit the conditions that caused difficulty. Test the relevant workflow. Confirm the supported equipment and escalation path. Then decide whether the evidence justifies a new relationship. That is more useful than accepting either permanent skepticism or unconditional optimism.
Hogan’s conversation is ultimately about earning attention again. A company can explain its direction, equip its partners and invite direct scrutiny of the work. Confidence returns through those experiences, one concrete answer at a time.
