How to Integrate MDF and Through-Channel Marketing

Here’s how one of our clients integrated Through-Channel Marketing (TCM) into their MDF program – and did it with (almost) zero new budget.

The Challenge

A large tech company with thousands of partners wanted to transform their MDF program to be modern and future-ready, and to embrace their partners’ needs for a more digital presence and go-to-market. The partners wanted more digital marketing options that didn’t require them to do any heavy lifting. It had to be automated, it had to offer choice, and it had to be accessible to partners who received different amounts of MDF funding. Additionally, the program had to be less of an administrative burden for both the vendor and the partners. Nobody had time for the manual approval and claims processes.

The MDF TCMA Marketplace Solution

The solution was to integrate through-channel marketing (TCM) services into the company’s MDF program using a marketplace and automation.

1. We identified the different types of partners that were in the program and segmented them for marketing needs.

2. We determined the kinds of digital marketing services that different partners needed, and that the vendor wanted to provide in order to promote their content and drive demand.

3. We built “packages” of services that had different combinations of TCM digital marketing elements – starting with foundational services, all the way up to comprehensive super-packages that included everything from syndicated web content, email marketing, social media management, blog and content creation, SEO and paid search, ads & media.

4. Modern, digital marketplaces are everywhere, and their growth is rapid – for good reason. Marketplaces are convenient. Buyers can very easily navigate them, find what they want, and purchase what they need. We placed these service packages into a pre-built marketplace where partners could come and view the services and easily select the ones that fit their needs and MDF budget.

How The Partners Get Their Services Delivered

Once the partners select the set of services they need, AscendX Digital engages with them on the vendor’s behalf to set up their account. The best part is that once it’s set up, there’s no more work for the partner. They don’t have to follow weekly campaign emails and they don’t have to return to the portal every week or every month. The automation technology takes over and the marketing and demand generation happens for them. Given that 84% of partners don’t have dedicated in-house marketing resources, this is a major benefit.

How the Marketing Gets Done

AscendX Digital takes the lead from the vendor marketing team and builds the campaign content for the partners. The syndicated web content is regularly refreshed and always brand compliant. Emails, social media posts, paid search ads are all created for a fully integrated campaign that happens automatically, and at scale. There’s no need for the vendor’s marketing team to hire or learn a new technology. The delivery is included in everything we do.

For the individual services, like custom content, blogs or SEO, our team reaches out to the partners for initial strategy sessions, and then we take it from there. The partners can be involved in as much or as little as they want.

Why This Marketing is Different 

Instead of giving funds to partners and hoping they’ll use them in a way that promotes the vendor’s brand and products correctly – or hoping the partners use them at all (Up to 60% MDF goes unused by partners) – this marketing is centrally controlled by AscendX Digital and the vendor to guarantee brand-compliance and alignment to vendor marketing priorities. Once the services are selected, 100% of the MDF funds are used that period.

The AscendX MDF Marketplace includes automated through-channel marketing technology, including the proprietary Google Ads for the Channel, co-developed with Google. Artificial intelligence and big data optimize performance across dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of partners daily, delivering results faster and far superior than any individual partner campaign could ever produce. 

>> Partners do less and get more.

It’s Built for Partners of all Sizes in Your Ecosystem

Due to limited internal resources, most vendors focus on their biggest partners. But the channel landscape is changing to an ecosystem model where buyers are interacting with multiple partners (Canalys says seven) on their purchase journey. Having your partners found by buyers during the digital customer journey is so important now that if they are not online, neither are you.  

The MDF service packages range in size from small to very large. This enables both large and small partners to participate without the need for additional vendor resources. 

Additionally, the smaller, economical service packages enable the vendor to invest in its up-and-coming partners in a way that provides them a path to growth – at scale. 

Don’t Simply Your MDF Claims Process – Eliminate It

Because MDF packages are predefined and pre-approved by the vendor, there’s no lengthy approval process for funds, and claims are consolidated across the partner base so that partners no longer need to submit them individually. Manual reviews or approvals are no longer required on the vendor’s part, and there is no burden of rework or re-submission for partners. 

How The MDF Marketplace is Funded and How it Can Require (almost) Zero New Budget

Here’s the part where it all comes together.  The cost of the partner-focused digital marketing services, the technology, and even the paid media are built into the MDF packages. When a partner selects a package for digital marketing services, all of the costs are included – just like any other marketing service. No additional operational marketing budget is required beyond the existing MDF budget. 

For the “almost” zero budget part – there’s a small set-up fee. But the ongoing costs of the services and the program are all included in the partner MDF solution.

What About Existing Agencies?

It was important for this tech vendor to include existing agencies in the program. They weren’t looking to cut anyone out. Because we built the program into a marketplace, it’s easy for those agencies to list their services. This way, these agencies can get more visibility with more partners on the marketplace. They can grow their business, too.  It’s a win for everyone.

More Control & Better MDF Results

The AscendX MDF TCM Marketplace helps vendors to better control and manage their MDF offerings so that more of their partners can leapfrog into the digital customer journey. We know that 100% of B2B buyers prefer an omnichannel experience (McKinsey & Co.), to which there are no exceptions. Partners need help, and they want more from their MDF programs, but with less effort. Bringing this all together in marketplace is fast, easy, and delivers modern marketing at scale.