demonstrate compelling and successful channel marketing because it’s an indicator of the support they’ll receive if they join the partner program. 2. Through-channel marketing: Also known as partner-led marketing, this is when a company markets products and services to customers through the partner’s sales channels. Through-channel marketing encompasses a range of programs, materials and campaigns that partners can pass on to prospective and current customers. For example, physical and digital assets are typically co-branded by the partner. 3. For-channel marketing: This is when a supplier markets directly to the customer for the benefit of partners. It also can include tools that a partner can use to enhance its operation. Some examples include sales-enablement systems that ease marketing or management activities. By segmenting efforts in these three categories, you can more easily track progress and identify areas for improvement. Allocate funds for the channel marketing program: This should be a separate and healthy budget dedicated to partner program success. Since it’s not worth doing unless you do it right, establish a dedicated P&L and partner marketing team. You’ll see how quickly a dedicated team can make a significant difference in driving results. Develop partner marketing-specific assets: Resist the temptation to blanket the partner community with existing corporate marketing assets and instead create content and tools that reflect the needs of each partner type and their audience(s). Remember that the goal is to help partners sell their own value proposition, not to push your product. If your partner is successful, that translates to revenue for your own pocket, so make sure they’re front and center in the marketing materials you create. Determine the goals for each partner and each campaign. Specific, measurable goals should be communicated and tracked with incentives for outstanding performance. Remember to stay focused on strategic, resultsoriented goals such as lead generation, demand generation, awareness, enablement and engagement, for example. Experiment, test and refine campaigns: Don’t be afraid to try new campaign ideas based on market trends, partner feedback, and customer insight. When you’re regularly tracking KPIs you’ll be able to refine each campaign to deliver increasingly higher ROI. As you take a closer look at channel marketing efforts and revamp programs to close the year with strong results, consider how you will manage the programs. While it may initially make sense to use spreadsheets or force-fit sales platforms to support partner activity, these solutions are limited. Instead, consider a through channel marketing automation (TCMA) platform designed specifically for the structure, organization and management of partner marketing assets, including tracking engagement and relating marketing activities back to the sales pipeline. o Kris Blackmon is head of channel communities for Zift Solutions. 41 JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2024 | CHANNELVISION
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