Vendor-side channel teams expect to operate with flat marketing budgets in 2026 as the industry shifts from volume-driven activity toward optimization, accountability and defensible outcomes, according to the “2025 State of Channel Marketing Report” from the Channel Marketing Association (CMA).
“The defining theme for 2026 is ‘smart stability,’” said Kathryn Rose, CMA co-founder. “Channel marketers are not pulling back. They are getting more selective. With flat budgets and more pressure to prove impact, teams are focusing on execution they can measure and defend.”
Though most organizations continue to invest between 1 percent and 5 percent of revenue into channel marketing, the number of teams planning to increased budgets “declined significantly year over year,” the CMA said. As a result, dollars are “being reallocated toward tactics that demonstrate clear contribution to pipeline and partner performance.”
Budgets remain flat as measurement and attribution remain challenges for marketers. About 90 percent of survey respondents indicated that their ability to measure channel marketing effectiveness needs improvement. “Disconnected tools, manual reporting and weak integration between marketing and sales systems continue to limit visibility once activity moves through partners,” the CMA said.
Among the shifts is how teams are approaching industry events. “The report shows a clear move away from large, generic, pay-to-play events and toward utility- and education-focused, community-based, distributor-led and regional events,” CMA officials said. “Budgets are being reallocated to environments where partner engagement is more intentional, follow-up is more practical and ROI is easier to track. Event sponsorship remains part of the channel mix, but participation is increasingly driven by measurable outcomes rather than visibility alone.”
At the same time, organizations are softening their focus on recruiting new channel partners while prioritizing activation and reactivation of partners already in their programs in a move that emphasizes partner productivity, according to the association.
Meanwhile, discretionary, case-by-case marketing development fund (MDF) models are “giving way to more predictable, performance-based approaches. Enablement efforts are becoming more focused, with deeper investment in partners that align with defined profiles and actively produce results,” CMA said.
“What we’re seeing is a reset. Channel marketing has entered a phase where activity alone is no longer enough,” said Amy Bailey, co-founder of CMA. “Teams are being evaluated on execution, attribution and whether programs stand up to financial scrutiny.”
Those shifts will impact 2026 planning, which includes “increased use of AI to scale partner support, continued movement toward ecosystem community-led engagement and growing pressure to clearly separate investments that build partner capacity from those that drive immediate revenue,” the association said.
The report findings were presented by CMA in a live webinar. A replay is available to the public for a limited time via registration before the recording is restricted to CMA members.
