TIDWIT

The pressure is increasing on channel marketing to deliver at a new level of scale, complexity, and personalization, and to figure out the people, processes, programs and underlying technology that will drive competitive advantage in the AI era. Gone are the days where you could kick out some MDF dollars, co-sponsor a few customer events, slap your partner's logo on a brochure, and call it a day. With the emergence of a new digital-first (or digital-only) buyer, a platform economy which favors numerous (concurrent) partnerships surrounding this buyer, the end of the cookie resulting in less powerful martech/adtech tools, and a marketing journey that doesn't end at the SQL hand-off, we are at a major inflection point. The responsibility of recognizing early buyer intent signals is moving from growth hackers in the marketing department to channel marketers. Without access to third-party data, companies must now ramp up their second- and first-party data strategies which includes: 1. Having more partners, especially co-selling and co-marketing partners (affiliates, affinity, advocates, ambassadors, influencers), executing their social, search, email, and syndicated content strategies on a vendor-owned platform. Through-channel marketing (TCMA) is having its moment in the sun as the need for buyer intent data can be shared among partners, vendors, distributors, and digital marketplaces - and doesn't require purchasing from Google or Facebook. 2. More emphasis on data sharing throughout the customer journey. Mapping tools (think Crossbeam or PartnerTap) are the next layer of the stack that will create partnering moments when two (or more) companies are sharing important customer moments from their CRM and marketing automation platforms. Attribution tools (think impact.com or Partnerize) also layer in here as the clicks, likes, and other engagement tell an important story about the 28 moments on average a customer spends in their considered purchase. Attribution is quickly moving from B2C to B2B as buying behaviors merge between consumer and business. 3. Rethinking program elements such as deal registration, opportunity management, and lead passing. These resell-oriented processes (which require human workflows) will become more powerful as AI copilots and agents autonomously leverage these tools to the benefit of the partner (protection in deals, visibility, and profitability coming from extra margins or points). 4. Leveraging ecosystem orchestration tools (such as WorkSpan, PartnerStack, or TIDWIT) to map the 7 partners surrounding a deal and the 7 layers of the tech stack that will drive the customer outcome. Also leverage orchestration players such as traditional distribution, cloud distribution, telco TSDs, managed services platforms, and perhaps most importantly, digital marketplaces to get visibility to second-party data. Channel marketers can't underestimate the power of AI in this new era.

?? The future of partner ecosystems is here—driven by deeper specialization and stronger engagement. How ready is your organization? Bridge Partners recently highlighted 2025 trends emphasizing increased specialization and meaningful partner interactions. As ecosystems refine their focus on strategic partnerships, enablement, and marketplace growth, organizations need flexible, scalable solutions to stay ahead of the curve. At TIDWIT, we're making this shift seamless by offering a highly configurable solution that empowers companies to increase partner engagement, unify management at scale, and gain real-time visibility into partner performance. ??How do you see partner enablement evolving in 2025? #PartnerEnablement #ChannelEcosystems #Ecosystems #B2BTech #DigitalTransformation

One of the major inflection points facing channel partner leaders in 2025 is the evolution of their partner's business models. Partners are shouting two things loudly to their vendors: 1. They are NOT just a cash register, but that is how you continue to incentivize them. In fact, collecting the customer's money on your behalf might be one of their least valuable "adds" to the customer journey. 2. They work (and make rich multiplier money) on all parts of the journey - before, during, and after the transaction. A majority of partners are charging the client for consulting and design/architecture work before the solution is baked. They are doing significant work after the deal is closed - implementing, integrating and managing the environment. Most vendors are moving (or have moved) from linear models of distribution to subscription, consumption, and now micro-consumption models in agentic AI. Lowering the cost to acquire a customer (CAC), closing larger deals faster, and enriching those contracts forever - customer lifetime value (CLV) - are the metrics vendor businesses run on. Thinking about your partner program enhancements for 2025, are you measuring and incentivizing each moment across the customer journey? --> Do you have robust co-selling, co-marketing, co-innovating, co-developing, and co-keeping elements of the program (in addition to resell and referral)? This is now the #1 ask of your partners. With 36% ranking it as most important, it is twice as valuable as getting pre-sales, technical, or marketing support. It is almost three times as valuable as access to enablement and certifications. Let's stop typecasting our partners (they now do 3.2 different business models on average) and start recognizing the value they provide across the customer journey. Our job in 2025 is to quantify those moments back to our company goals in a reliable, repeatable, and scalable way.

?? Join the 2025 ASAP Summit – Save 30% Through 2/7! ??? ? Discover how partnerships are transforming industries and redefining collaboration. The 2025 ASAP Summit offers tools, strategies, and connections to thrive in a dynamic, interconnected world.? ? What You’ll Gain: Breakthrough Strategies: Drive partner-led growth across industries.? AI-Driven Solutions: Master the methodologies transforming alliances.? Invaluable Connections: Network with visionaries shaping the future. ?? Explore Key Tracks: 1?? Healthcare Alliances: Addressing challenges in life sciences and digital health. 2?? Leadership Best Practices: Trust-building, metrics, and global strategies. 3?? Technology & Innovation: AI, blockchain, and sustainability partnerships. Be part of the visionary network shaping partnership success in 2025! ?? Don’t wait—register now: https://lnkd.in/grNkdkG Nicole Boston, CAE, CA-AM Kimberly Miller Theresa Caragol Aviv Aloni Courtney Christensen Jason Felsch Cynthia George Lauren Griffey, CA-AM Kristian Gy?rk?s?Claudia J. Kuzma, MA Sheila Mason Brooke A. Paige Lynn Richard Kristin Rosner Philip Sack Yolanda Stead Mark Brigman, Ph.D., SPLP Alison Becker, Diane Lemkin, Lori Gold, CA-AM, Jan Twombly, Adam Kornetsky, Louis Rinfret, Vantage Partners, allianceboard, The Rhythm of Business, Inc., Andrew (Drew) Quinlan, Sunir Shah, Nicole A Colwell, Katherine Kendrick, CSAP, Robert Porter Lynch, Sally W. #ASAP2025 #StrategicAlliances #Innovation #PartnershipExcellence ?