Channel Marketing Simplified

As you plan for next year, you may find that there are large, blank stretches on the calendar where nothing much is happening. Product launches, customer and partner conferences, and industry events dot the calendar, much like holidays did for you as a child (and likely still as an adult).

So, what do we have to look forward to? How do we break up the time? The answer is simple. There are three types of channel marketing programs you’re going to want to run next year. But before we get into the programs, it’s important to consider the needs of channel partners and how best to engage them with support and direction.

The way brands and channel partners think about marketing together is changing. The change is being led by the modern digitally-driven buyer who does much of their research online rather than through sales engagement, as has been the case previously. Brands continue to get a ton of traffic on their websites through their own marketing as well as receiving contributions from their channel partners' efforts.. Brands collect leads but generally don't share them with channel partners as many sell direct as well as through-partners.

For many channel partners, their entire marketing strategy is based on hosting events. Steakhouse dinners, golf outings, and sporting events account for the majority of their "marketing" activity. There are at least two ways to evaluate this approach. From an optimistic point of view, the events can be looked as a fun way to engage prospects. From a more pessimistic point of view, these events can be seen as a huge waste of money and time on an unqualified audience.

Whichever side you sit on, these events don't support scalable growth because of several fundamental flaws: