Insight from Tom Perry, CEO of Sherpa ahead of 2025.
As Sherpa embarks on a new financial year, I’ve been reflecting on the state of Partner Marketing for global technology vendors, we see a lot of data here at Sherpa and this annual exercise offers a moment to assess the pulse of the market and consider what shifts need to be addressed.
One thing is clear: Partner Marketing has never been more critical. However, if your goal is to increase partner revenue—whether originated, led, sourced, or influenced—it’s time to rethink your models to achieve those outcomes. Many of these frameworks, like the 40-year-old Market Development Fund (MDF) model, no longer fit the buyer-driven, technology-enabled landscape we operate in today. You cant just fund 'net new' point of sale activities, there is more to it these days.
Here are ten key considerations to help you transform your approach and drive smarter, more effective Partner Marketing in 2025.
The traditional MDF model, while foundational for decades, has not kept pace with the complexities of today’s buyer journey. In a market dominated by digital-first, data-driven decision-making, vendors must invest in new tools, strategies, and enablement programs to support their partners effectively.
You can’t drive 2025 revenue with a model designed in 1985. In recent years, MDF programs have almost exclusively targeted demand creation for net new activities, ignoring some of the more poignant sales moments such as renewal, expansion, and retention. Let's enable Partners to operate at all stages of the sales and marketing lifecycle.
Power dynamics between vendors and partners have shifted significantly. Partners now hold more influence and are often courted by multiple vendors simultaneously. To secure their loyalty, vendors must move beyond transactional relationships and offer meaningful demand creation, enablement, tailored support, and effective Partner Marketing programs.
If recruiting new partners is on your agenda, consider how compelling your value proposition is—and whether your enablement program delivers measurable value post-signature.
Insights from Canalys highlights a significant shift in how technology buyers make decisions. Today, buyers experience 28 critical moments along their journey, most of which involve channel partners. These moments span the entire marketing & sales lifecycle:
This “team sport” dynamic means that no vendor can win alone. Partner Marketing is now a key revenue driver rather than just a support function; too many programs still rely on a total focus on 'net-new' - there is much more to Partner marketing in 2025 and beyond than just getting a lead.
As third-party cookies disappear, partners are becoming critical in capturing early-stage buyer engagement. Through-Channel Marketing Automation (TCMA) platforms are pivotal for enabling:
With these tools, vendors can retain relevance in the critical early stages of the customer journey. Layer in first party data, AI and personalization at scale delivered on a new breed of automation platforms and this landscape and suddenly a seed change is possible, away form merely being followed around the internet.
Rich data mining, AI, and personalization at scale are now essential components of Partner Marketing. However, replacing your tech stack can feel daunting.
The good news? You don’t always need to overhaul everything. Renting functionality or working with agencies offering modular solutions can help you test new tools and strategies without a massive upfront investment. Test & iterate needs to be the mantra, and there is a raft of stand-alone, specialist platforms springing up that can be considered to solve specific challenges in your tech stack.
How are you measuring the success of your Partner Marketing programs? Many vendors still need to rely on lagging metrics, like revenue generated, which provide a backward-looking view. In fact I spoke to a Client today who was considering rewarding partners on just their 'history' with them as a vendor! Not that progressive and in an environment where we have access to more data than ever in Partnerships, there has to be a more nuanced way of guiding partner investment.
Leading metrics—such as partner engagement levels—offer a more forward-looking perspective, helping you identify high-potential partners and guide strategic investment.
Partner recruitment is becoming increasingly competitive. With multiple vendors vying for their attention, partners are more selective than ever. To stand out, vendors must articulate a clear and compelling enablement story supported by a robust Partner Marketing program.
Are you differentiating your offering effectively in this crowded landscape? How dedicated are your enablement efforts going to be for new partners, and how well-resourced?
Trust is the foundation of successful partnerships. Vendors must demonstrate transparency, integrity, and commitment to partner success.
Every touchpoint—from joint demand creation and co-marketing initiatives to day-to-day support—should reinforce your dedication to building a trusted, collaborative relationship.
Many vendors need help with outdated systems that no longer meet the demands of modern Partner Marketing. AI, automation, and second-party data strategies are critical for scaling personalized, effective campaigns.
If your tech stack isn’t helping you adapt, it might be time to explore new solutions—or risk falling behind.
The future of Partner Marketing is data-driven. Creative campaigns and compelling messages mean little if you’re not targeting the right partners with the right type of campaigns and support programs. With the right data, you can identify, enable, and support partners with precision, ensuring your efforts translate into measurable outcomes to drive marketing funnel ROI.
Without data as your foundation, you’re not even at the start line.
A New Dawn for Partner Marketing
The outdated models of the past are being replaced with “Smarter”, more agile approaches prioritising partner potential, new types of success programs and more involved models of revenue growth. This isn’t just about tools or metrics—it’s about reimagining the vendor-partner dynamic to meet the demands of today’s market.
At Sherpa, we’re embracing this transformation and are committed to helping vendors and partners work smarter, not harder, with our new Sherpa Marketing Momentum approach.