For a number of reasons, channel organizations have been laggards in automation. We estimate that over 80% of companies (in all industries) ) run their indirect sales in a silo — completely separate from sales, marketing, and other lines of business. Discover why account-based enablement can help partners achieve these more significant marketing outcomes, faster and with higher sensitivity to their budgetary requirements.
Through-partner account-based marketing initiatives are gaining steam, especially when prospective customers are identified with the help of predictive analytics solutions. Pointing partners in the direction of more-likely buyers is dramatically boosting the conversion of marketing qualified leads (MQL) to sales qualified leads (SQL). At MRP, a marketing services provider, the application of predictive analytics with ABM best practices has boosted conversion of MQLs to SQLs to an average 78%.
Today, a mere one in three channel marketers are confident that they can optimize their MDF spend. Perhaps this is spurred by the fact that 59% say they have zero visibility into their marketing-generated pipeline or historical campaign analytics, and 78% complain of poor lead conversion. To this point, channel marketing programs have largely mirrored B2B marketing best practice – to generate and process leads, with a focus on efficiency and quantity. It makes sense, we all want more leads, and it would be great if they were less expensive.
By combining allocations of several MDF programs into a single pool of marketing dollars, partners large and small are making more effective and efficient use of resources many companies often leave on the table. MRP, a marketing and sales agency, has successfully managed multi-vendor MDF programs for partner companies. Devon Day Wellbrock, Senior Vice President, Americas, chatted with Channel Marketer Report about how her company is helping partners get more value from their MDF allocations.
Channel sales and marketing executives are tasked with the unenviable responsibility of juggling multiple priorities including partner recruitment, managing channel sales performance and ensuring market development funds are used wisely. Despite the heavy investments that many vendors have made within channel marketing, particularly advancements within automation and concierge services, the majority of partners are still not effectively managing their MDF strategies.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock then you will have noticed how buyer’s behaviors have dramatically changed. In an overwhelmingly digital market, engagement with your sales reps is generally later in the buying process than you’d probably like to admit. When that interaction happens, your buyers are likely expecting something a bit more than a static sales deck with information they’ve already found on their own.