What is Channel Partner Marketing? Everything you Need to Know

What Is Channel Partner Marketing? 

Channel partner marketing is becoming increasingly valuable within hyper-competitive verticals like the technology sector. So, what exactly is it? 

Channel partner marketing, also known as channel marketing or partner marketing, refers to the methods used to promote products and services sold by channel partners. Now this may sound complicated, so we’ll break it down further for you.   

Channel partners act as the middleperson between vendors and the end–customer, often providing sales implementation and customer support.  Channel partners include value-added resellers (VARs), system integrators, consultants and managed service providers among other types of business’s that provide additional value and input to the original product or service.  

What Makes an Effective Partner Marketing Strategy? 

An effective channel partner marketing strategy is about enabling multi-sided win-win relationships.
Here are some tactics for partner marketing success:  

Align business plans: When partners and vendors are fully aligned, channel marketing strategies can produce better results. This is achieved by having an action-planned framework and holding weekly meetings to keep everyone accountable.  A channel partner marketing plan is essential for success. 

Build out marketing campaigns: Tackle lead generation together with joint marketing initiatives. Push out content like webinars or joint whitepapers to boost results for all parties.  

Dedicate channel marketing account managers and specialists: Assign people who want to work with your partner. Your partner needs a go-to person who is across the campaigns and can foster the relationship between partner and vendor.  

The benefits of a successful channel partner marketing program include: 

• Opportunity for increased revenue at a lower overall cost  

• Targeted approach 

• Empowered brand presence  

• Strengthened business relationship 

• Enlarged network 

How Top-rated Vendors Utilize Channels  

Vendors like IBM, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and others have an established partner ecosystem with a channel partner program. This allows partners to use the vendors’ names to sell their technology. 

On the other hand, vendors can combine their partners’ technology offerings with their own to create compelling solutions for the end-customer. This is called a channel strategy as it’s a joint effort from both vendor and partner to sell to the end-customer.  This helps increase joint marketing efforts, partner engagement and aligns the channel marketing strategy for each layer of the plan. 

How Exactly Does Microsoft Utilize Channels?  

 
There are many joint–selling opportunities with Microsoft whose partners have access to a robust partner program and can benefit from a host of Microsoft services. Large Tech companies like Microsoft give their partners more power than ever through advancing program capabilities, increasing funding and incentives, and offering world-class resources to enable client and solution success. 

For different companies, selling might be easy or difficult, and they may not have the budget to target all around the world. That’s where Microsoft field sellers come in. 

They help maximize marketing impact. Field sellers already have established connections, are familiar with the space and know the best way to fit solutions. We highly recommend smaller independent software vendors tap into these resources to position themselves for better visibility. 

Where Does Transcends Fit In? 

Channel marketing partners can act as an intermediary between a vendor and their partners, or between a vendor and their end-customers. At Transcends, we’re well-versed in the Microsoft ecosystem, speak their language and can help you get the most value out of your Microsoft partnership. This is a great option for vendors who don’t have the time, specialised knowledge or bandwidth to execute in-house. We also work directly with vendors looking to market to end-users. 

Our Services 

Our roots run deep in technology partnerships, enabling us to bring our clients exclusive insights, data-driven market opportunities, and a prioritized pathway to partnership success.  We have brand guidelines, partner programs, and marketing best practices ready to serve our clients.

Here are some of the services we offer:  

Leads-in-a-Box campaign: Designed to generate qualified leads that your team can act upon immediately. 

Nurture-in-a-Box campaign: The next step, designed to take those leads further through the funnel.  

Account-based marketing (ABM): Target specific accounts and focus your effort where it counts. Draw sales and marketing together and close bigger deals.  

Content credits: This point-based system allows clients complete freedom to pick and choose the content they need. You can purchase the credits in advance and use them when required. 

 
Looking to expand your partnerships or start a channel partner marketing campaign? Head here to learn more about our services and how we can partner.