The marketing world is as broad and diverse as life itself: digital marketing, inbound, outbound, content marketing, advertising, you name it. In this article, we will be talking about partner marketing and a specific kind of partner marketing: channel marketing, which always involves campaigns created for sales partners. 

What is partner marketing?

Partner marketing is any strategic collaboration between two brands to accomplish mutual goals. Whether those goals are increasing brand awareness, augmenting sales, or any other will depend on the characteristics of the brands (whether they are people or companies, the size of the companies, etc.). Still, as long as there is a strategic collaboration, we are in the realm of partner marketing. 

Given that the definition of partner marketing is so broad, there is no surprise in that there are many kinds of it:

• Affiliates 
• Content partner marketing
• Distribution
• Joint product development 
• Product placement
• Loyalty programs
• Channel partner marketing 
• Sponsorships
• Influencer marketing 

To name just a few. 

Since there are so many types of partner marketing, the benefits a campaign brings will vary depending on the objectives and execution. Besides increasing sales, perhaps the main benefit of any partner marketing strategy is that it creates or increases customer value by combining the resources and expertise of the brands involved. 

In the case of channel marketing, the added value comes from joining the proximity sales channels have to the final customers with the knowledge and economic strength of the companies that develop the products or services distributed by the channels. 

This way, channel campaigns save everyone time and effort, making sales easier and more efficient.

What is channel partner marketing, and when do you need it?

Channel partners are third parties that help sell your products or services. Every time you go to the supermarket, you see channel partner marketing in action. Nestle (to name any brand) doesn’t sell directly to you but to a first-tier distributor who sells to the supermarket of your choice (second-tier). 

Channel partner strategies work very similarly in any vertical sector, regardless of which product or service is at the core of their business, because channel programs solve the distance between the company that creates the product or service and the final customer. 

Channel partner marketing solves critical sales needs, but the bigger the strategy, the more difficult it becomes to manage. The more channel partners you have, the more difficult it may become to: 

• Have a clear knowledge of who is selling your products
• Reach out consistently to new channels
• Deliver competitive sales promotions 
• Motivate your channels to know your products
• Recognize and reward the sales efforts and performance of your channels

These challenges can be worked out by implementing a channel loyalty program and partner-ready campaigns.

So, what are partner-ready campaigns? 

Partner-ready campaigns are marketing strategies planned and sponsored by the company whose products or services are being sold to boost sales and brand awareness by providing its channels with valuable assets they can use in their marketing efforts. 

These assets can range from interactive videos to landing pages, social media resources, or any aspect of a 360ª marketing strategy that can be used to support your channels’ efforts.

By implementing partner-ready campaigns, you will improve your sales because you will guarantee your channels’ marketing strategies are on point and improve your relationship with them by supporting their work. In turn, this is going to help build a loyalty bond for them to prefer your brand over your competitors. 

Would you like to know how to create a channel program or a partner-ready campaign for your brand? Our team would love to hear your questions on the matter.