The Golden Rules of Partner Marketing: Insights from the Field
This blog is part of a series that features the perspectives of partner marketing leaders worldwide. Our guest contributors share their experiences, the challenges they’ve faced in the partner ecosystem, and the lessons they’ve learned over the years.
When I tell people I work in partner marketing, I often get confused looks, especially in casual settings. But for us partner marketers, we know exactly what it means, right? To explain it simply, I tell people: “I help companies working with mine sell more products and services.” We play a critical role within the partner ecosystem, guiding partners on how to best market our products and services. Partners often look to us as the experts, so our job is essential to their success.
Partner marketing can take many forms. It might involve working on tailored strategies with a select group of larger strategic partners or creating scalable models for smaller, local partners, often managed by distributors. But no matter the size or scope, the goal remains the same: to drive mutual success.
So, how do you elevate your partner marketing strategy from good to great? Here are the golden rules to follow:
Rule #1: Consider All Your Partners – Big and Small
It all begins with a strong, supportive team that provides partners with simple, self-service, and co-brandable content. This is crucial, especially for smaller partners who may have limited resources – sometimes they’re managed by a single marketing manager, or even a sales leader doubling as a marketer. These smaller partners often don’t have the capacity for large-scale campaigns, so providing easy-to-use resources is key.
Rule #2: Get Partner Marketing a Seat at the Table
When crafting a customized campaign with a partner, it’s essential that partner marketing is involved from the very beginning. You need to be “in the room” when your partner is developing their go-to-market strategy with your company. A team that includes sales, marketing, and technical resources from both companies ensures alignment on goals and objectives. This way, your marketing efforts can directly support the overall partnership and help hit the targets that matter most.
Rule #3: Clarify Your Partner Messaging
Once you’ve established a strategy, it’s time to fill the funnel with leads. But it’s not just about filling it – it’s also about accelerating and closing those opportunities. To do this effectively, you need clear, compelling messaging. Start by asking, “What do we know?” Create a key messaging document that identifies your target audience, including key personas, industries, business sizes, and pain points. Also, consider how your solution stands out from the competition. Customer testimonials are invaluable here – make sure your sales team works early on to secure them. Once you have this, you can leverage digital marketing tactics like account-based marketing (ABM) to target specific prospects and build your marketing funnel cost-effectively.
Rule #4: Accelerate the Pipeline with In-Person Engagement
After you’ve built a strong pipeline, it’s time to accelerate it. This is where in-person engagement becomes critical. Look for “collision points” where your potential customers can meet with your sales teams, customers, influencers, and key partners. Hosting your own events or attending industry tradeshows can create these opportunities. These events provide the perfect platform to share why your company is the best choice and offer proof points like customer success stories and analyst reports.
Remember, it’s not about hard-selling the product; it’s about communicating the value the customer will receive. And when it comes to closing deals, small, intimate C-level events can have the greatest impact. Having a satisfied customer at these events can be incredibly influential. Customers are more likely to trust their peers who have had successful experiences, so create an environment where potential customers feel comfortable asking questions and learning more.
Connect Your Partner Marketing Tactics to the Pipeline
As marketers, we know that these tactics need to happen in tandem to keep the pipeline flowing – they can’t be one-off activities. When resources like time, budget, or headcount are limited, it’s essential to communicate the impact that constraints will have on the pipeline. The goal is always to drive pipeline, and showing measurable results is how we demonstrate our value. Make sure your team consistently tracks and reports ROI. When done effectively, this can lead to more budget and headcount.
If you take away one key lesson from this, let it be this: marketing needs to have a seat at the table from the very start. Communicating the value you bring to the table is invaluable. At the end of the day, our goal is for sales teams to view marketing as a powerful tool they can’t do without. Think of your partner marketing manager as the trusted marketing leader – their go-to resource and secret weapon.
This approach will help your team not only drive better results but also build stronger, more effective partnerships that lead to lasting growth.
