The partner landscape is changing. Is your marketing aligned?

The channel landscape is evolving to an ecosystem model.  In a recent blog post by Jay McBain at Canalys, “Have the industry’s channel chiefs really moved to an ecosystem model?”, he makes the point that “there are dozens of moments that can be monitored, measured and managed across the customer journey as well as through alliance relationships. Applying incentive, motivation and loyalty strategies across these moments is critical to an ecosystem model.” 

These “28 moments” of the customer journey before vendor selection are critical for vendors to support their partners. We know that 100% of B2B buyers prefer an omnichannel experience (McKinsey & Co.), to which there are no exceptions. Having your partners found by buyers during the digital customer journey is so important now that if they are not online, neither are you.  

And if/when your partners are found online by potential buyers, what will those buyers see? Will your content be current, brand-compliant, dynamic and engaging? For the 90% of partners that are SMB, and 84% of partners without internal marketing resources, it’s a long-shot. Automated solutions are required to reach through many more partners to capture more buyers in the 28 moments of their journey. 

Jay reports in this article that customers will experience seven partners (on average) that they already trust during the buying process. “The ecosystem model reduces the value placed on the transaction itself and instead puts value on moments where partners help get customers to the dance, get them on the dance floor and keep them dancing all night long.” 

It’s more complex and nuanced than ever before.

If your partner program is solely focused on the one partner that made the final transactional sale, you’re missing the vast rest of the customer journey. 

Having modern, automated marketing systems that include building up the partners’ digital readiness, while maintaining control over the content, the timing, and the message is a highly efficient and affordable way of reaching to and through a much larger number of partners.

Through-Channel Marketing (TCM) Automation – called the “Third Stage for Sales and Marketing Leaders” by Forrester Research has come a long way. While it offers a single point of entry and control, it can also offer choice for partners to leverage what they need the most – at scale.  It can help vendors reach more customers, through more partners, and reach more of those moments in the journey.

If you’d like to explore a TCM solution that includes more partners, and takes a forward-looking approach to partner investment, contact us.