GTM in MEA series: Marketing as a Channel Enabler - Can it drive growth through partnerships?

This is the fourth article in my "GTM in MEA" series (Article 1 , Article 2 , Article 3 ), and today I want to explore something that’s often overlooked but is crucial to success: Channel Marketing. It’s the hidden gem of any successful ecosystem and partnerships organization within a vendor. While building technical and sales capabilities with partners and distributors is important, figuring out how this leads to meaningful brand awareness and effective lead generation that contributes to growth is another challenge.

Let’s assume the age-old "chicken or egg" debate - whether business should come first, or marketing investment - doesn’t exist here. The decision to deploy marketing funds and execute the right activities is already made. From my experience, here are a few top challenges I’ve noticed over the years:

1- Channel Marketing is Often Not Seen as a Revenue-Generating Function

All business starts with proper awareness and product representation in front of your target customers. Organic growth is possible, but in the B2B world, it’s less effective and takes longer, which most businesses don’t prefer. That’s why a big portion of new business comes from effective marketing. It’s important to recognize that marketing plays a role in generating revenue. Without tracking the customer journey from the first phase of acquisition, you're missing a key piece.

One of my favorite ways to measure marketing effectiveness and the ROI they bring is by looking at two key metrics:

• The number of meetings set with customers through partner-led activities
• The expected $$$ value of each lead brought in before it’s handed to the sales team

This approach provides a fair way to evaluate marketing efforts from both a qualitative and quantitative angle. Not every joint partner-vendor marketing effort will convert into business, but that doesn’t mean the effort was wasted.

2- Choosing a Channel Marketing Activity That Doesn’t Align with Your Target Market or Annual Goal

There are endless joint marketing activities a vendor’s team can organize, but choosing the right one depends on multiple factors. Think of these questions:

• Am I a new vendor in MEA? >> I need brand recognition
• Am I an established vendor with less than $3M annual revenue in MEA? >> I need to acquire new logos
• Am I a long-established vendor in MEA with $10M+ annual revenue? >> I need to protect my customer base and expand

Once you define your strategy, narrow down which partners align with it and can help you reach your customer base. Then, focus on a partner-led marketing activity that suits your goals. For example:

• Focused Approach: Roundtables with CxOs or high-profile executives to drill into specific topics with a subject matter expert. This gives you deeper insight into the decision-makers’ goals and challenges in the industry you’re serving.
• Mass Approach: Large industry events like GITEX (UAE), LEAP (KSA), or DOT Cyber Summit (Jordan), along with digital marketing campaigns or hosting mass-customer events with 100+ attendees, provide great opportunities to discuss industry trends and showcase your innovations. These are ideal for connecting with a broad customer base through joint efforts with partners, distributors, and even service providers in the region.

Customers see your marketing activities as opportunities to connect, learn, and align with you. Keeping this in mind when choosing the right partners and marketing strategies can make all the difference in success.

3- Failing to Localize Your Marketing Strategy

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen vendors make in MEA is failing to properly localize their marketing strategies. It’s not just about translating your materials into Arabic, English, or any other local language .. it goes much deeper than that. Localization means understanding the unique business practices, cultural nuances, and customer expectations in each country within the region. What works in the UAE might not resonate at all in Egypt or South Africa, and ignoring that difference can be costly.?

You need to collaborate closely with your local partners and distributors to adapt your marketing efforts to each market. This could mean tweaking the messaging, adjusting the focus of campaigns, or even changing how you approach certain industries. A blanket strategy just won’t work.

By investing in localized marketing efforts, you’re not only building stronger relationships with potential customers, but you’re also showing that your brand truly understands the regional landscape - and trust me, that’s something customers in MEA value.

4- Underutilizing Partner Marketing Funds

Another challenge I’ve seen time and again is that vendors provide their partners with marketing development funds (MDF), but those funds often go unused, or worse, they’re not used effectively. This usually happens because partners aren’t always sure how to execute successful marketing campaigns, or they don’t understand how to use the funds strategically to drive actual business.

To get the most out of MDF, you need to offer your partners clear guidance on how to use these funds effectively. It’s not enough to just give them the money and hope for the best. Work with them to develop structured marketing programs: whether it’s joint webinars, digital ads, product demos, or targeted email campaigns that align with their strengths and your overall strategy. Regularly reviewing how the funds are being used and the ROI generated can help ensure the funds are driving real results.

And remember, MDF is an investment, not just a budget line. If you and your partners can make the most of it, it’s a win-win situation .. your partners grow, and so do you.

5- Neglecting Post-Marketing Engagement

Finally, one of the biggest issues I’ve seen is neglecting post-marketing engagement. Let’s say you’ve hosted a great event or run a successful campaign .. what happens next? Too often, vendors fail to follow up properly with the leads they’ve generated. Those leads quickly go cold if there’s no immediate follow-up, and that’s a huge missed opportunity.

Post-marketing engagement is where you can really turn prospects into customers. This is the time to reconnect, provide more value, and build a relationship. Whether it’s through personalized follow-up emails, setting up meetings, or offering additional resources, staying in touch after the initial marketing push is key to keeping your brand top of mind.?

You should also work closely with your partners to create a follow-up strategy that aligns with the customer journey. For example, if you’ve done a product demo at an event, follow up with more detailed information tailored to the prospect’s business needs. Don’t let those leads slip away .. turn them into long-term customers by maintaining consistent engagement.

I hope this article provides valuable insights into the role of marketing in channel partnerships. I’d love to hear your thoughts: what has worked for you in driving demand generation in MEA?

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