Since the marketing ecosystem is evolving rapidly, B2B organizations are in a rush to build a range of strategic initiatives. However, many do not have to seem to have a clear vision about their ideal partnerships and what it takes for them to succeed.
B2B executives have been optimistic about their indirect sales and marketing programs across the enterprise landscape. As per industry experts, most B2B executives expect to witness a substantial increase in their revenue which is directly attributed to their partner ecosystems. A study from Demand Gen Report’s “Channel/Partner Marketing Benchmark survey,” organizations are taking steps towards evolving their channel programs that include a broad range of partners. Thus, with the partner marketing ecosystem continuing to grow, B2B organizations are hurrying to develop a range of strategic activities. Even though it is geared towards action, many do not seem to have a clear vision of their ideal partnerships to succeed. Hence, CMOs and other marketing and sales leaders should take to understand where their partner marketing practices are failing them.
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Here are a few ways for them to create an impactful partner marketing program:
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Reassess their ideal partner profile
The partnership program will likely remain the primary objective from the beginning towards maturity. But, to deliver maximum partner marketing impact, CMOs should create an evaluation capability into their assessment that will reduce non-productive additions to their team, which will not benefit either party and will only result in the addition of unnecessary cost.
CMOs should focus on evaluating the quality of partners from the beginning. Hence, they should create an ideal partner profile depending on where they have succeeded in the past. At the same time, they should be flexible while onboarding new partners types that have no history. Thus, CMOs should build up capabilities that will enable them to evaluate partner potential to succeed. They should be able to understand where the partner’s strengths lie and whether they will be better assist them in their challenges by the partner program the organization has put in place.
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Segment partners
As per industry experts, partners that had a digital marketing strategy in place during the pandemic were not much impacted by its devastating effects. However, the organizations did not are still struggling to adjust to the new reality. Having insights about these factors can help them to improve and potentially enhance the partner program. It may also reveal a significant number of organizations in the market or even their own existing partners that may require additional support. Thus, CMOs can identify the focus areas by leveraging the segmenting methodology.
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Design partner marketing program on the basis of partner’s marketing maturity and capabilities
With each partner’s level of expertise with the ecosystem of the brand broadly varying, it is challenging to design a program that manages every partner in the same way. From the beginning, the brand should consider the significance of 1-to-1 highly customized relationships versus disparate operationalization challenges of 1-to-many. Marketers experienced with account-based marketing, the importance here will be much familiar.
Even though digital marketing is getting more sophisticated, brands need to take steps to do sophistication with the right partners. By segmenting the ecosystem, brands are in a better position to understand how to roll out their investment model.
Meaning, partners where the win-win situation has a high potential will deserve more customized attention. Additionally, partners that can benefit from basic block-and-tackling support from their point towards the requirement for a technology-based enablement infrastructure can deliver many participants at a potentially significant scale.
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