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Time (and channel marketing) waits for no man.
As the sands continue to shift and the world keeps on evolving success hinges on adaptability, alignment, and the ability to build meaningful relationships with your partners. Which all sounds great and wonderful but what does that actually mean in real life?
That's what we dig into on the 3rd episode of the Channel Marketing Champs podcast alongside the magnificent Natalia Marusic, a veteran of the B2B tech industry with 17 years of experience at companies like VMware, IBM, and Lenovo, to discuss what makes great channel marketing strategies stand out.
You can listen to the full episode yourself here, but we've condensed down the highlights into the following bite-sized blog post
Here’s what we learned.
Sales and Marketing: A Crucial Alignment
One of the biggest takeaways from our conversation with Natalia was the importance of sales and marketing alignment.
It's a conversation that never seems to die in B2B circles but it's for good reason. Too often, these teams work in silos, but true success comes from collaboration. Natalia emphasizes that marketers must think like salespeople:
“You are not just marketing—you are sales as well. You need to understand your audience and work with them.”
By integrating sales insights into marketing strategies, businesses can then build campaigns that tick all the necessary boxes and that actually resonate with both partners and end customers. (You know, the people you actually want to buy stuff).
Winning in Channel Marketing: Best Practices
Natalia shared some key best practices that have helped her drive successful B2B marketing and partner marketing campaigns over her time in the industry:
1. Start with the Partner’s Priorities
Before launching any campaign, marketers at the vendor level must understand (and do so in a really deep way) the priorities and challenges of their partners.
A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. And it never will.
Instead, focusing on specific use cases, industry trends, and customer needs ensures marketing efforts hit the mark.
“It’s not just about running activities—it’s about building relationships and understanding what partners really need.”
2. Balance ‘To-Channel’ and ‘Through-Channel’ Strategies
Successful channel marketing requires a fine balance of activity.
Both partner enablement (to-channel marketing) activity - those "heartbeat comms" mentioned by Simon Edward in the first episode of the podcast - and campaigns that help partners reach customers (through-channel marketing) need to be considered and woven together properly.
Striking the right balance ensures partners are both empowered and supported.
“A well-enabled and motivated channel, aligned with marketing activities, drives the best results.”
3. Data-Driven Decision Making
Marketing strategies should always be backed by data.
Analyzing past campaign performance, sales insights, and partner engagement metrics helps fine-tune future initiatives.
“Every marketer needs to be data-driven. Look at historical performance, track engagement, and adjust strategies based on insights.”
4. Stay Agile and Ahead of Market Trends
Technology and market dynamics shift rapidly—just look at the current focus on AI for example.
Marketers must be able to pivot and align strategies with emerging trends. You've got to stay on your toes and abreast of the latest developments at all times.
“We MUST stay informed and adjust to changes—what worked yesterday won’t necessarily work tomorrow.”
The 4Fs of Channel Marketing Success
Summing up her approach to B2B partner marketing, Natalia shared four guiding principles:
Fast: React quickly to market changes
Whether it's a shift in customer demand, a new competitor strategy, or an emerging technology, speed is crucial.
Flexible: Adapt strategies to align with partners
Every partner has different goals and challenges. The best marketing plans are adaptable and customized.
Focused: Target the right audience and use-case
Instead of broad campaigns, channel marketers should prioritize specific customer needs and craft targeted messaging.
Fearless: Be creative and experiment
Innovation is key. Thinking outside the box and striving to be meaningfully different leads to fresh, engaging campaigns that stand out in a crowded market. [And working with a great agency (hint, hint) never hurts].
“Don’t be afraid to experiment. Creativity in partner marketing can make all the difference.”
Final Thoughts
Great channel marketing is about more than just running campaigns, far from it. It’s about building relationships, aligning with sales, and staying ahead of the curve.
By focusing on speed, flexibility, focus, and fearlessness, marketers can create strategies and activities that drive real impact (and considerable ROI to boot).
So, how are you going to incorporate the 4Fs into your B2B partner marketing approach?
