• by Ray Schultz , October 4, 2022

Customers are not the only group that requires marketing investment. Partners are another, judging by Foundry’s 2022 Partner Marketing Study.

Of the technology brands polled, 88% view partner marketing as a necessary tactic, with 5!% saying it provides great value, and 37% saying it brings some benefit. 

On average, respondents are devoting 40% of their overall marketing budget to partner marketing activities, up from 37% in 2019. 

In addition, 72% plan to increase their partner marketing budgets and 20% to hold steady. 
Moreover, 85% have a documented partner marketing strategy, including 89% of enterprise firms and 77% for SMBs.

But there are several challenges, including:

- Too many competing priorities — 31%

- Lack of partner commitment — 24%

- Lack of resources — 24%

Competing priorities are more of a problem for SMBs—38% cite this challenge. And 25% of SMBs suffer from lack of strategy and 24% from insufficient resources.

But only 28% of enterprise firms cite competing priorities and 20% cite a lack of strategy.

Strategies help. Firms with a documented partner marketing strategy report that 58% of their partner marketing programs yielded successful results over the past 12 months, versus 45% of firms without one. 

The takeaway: “A successful partner marketing strategy not only aims to increase revenue, but also attract new customers, increase sales and partner engagement, while driving brand awareness and credibility,” says Rick Currier, vice president, U.S. Sales & Partner Marketing, Foundry.

Foundry surveyed 379 technology focused marketers based in North America, EMEA and APAC.