Channel Marketing
What is channel marketing and how can you do it right?
Channel marketing is a no-brainer; it's also quite difficult to master, especially when the channels and partners are constantly changing and evolving, as does consumer behavior. Channel partner marketing is an effective, collaborative strategy where businesses "team up with external partners to promote and sell their products or services, benefiting from shared resources and expanding their reach," as defined by WebFX.
Understanding the needs and wants of different consumer segments is the first step to developing and then implementing an effective channel strategy; knowing where consumers go for information and finding the touchpoints that will lead to conversion and/or purchase in conjunction with considering factors for partners such as sales capacity and company values, is easier said than done. As such, understanding what your team needs and then creating a rubric can help determine the best fit for partnerships.
Measurement, and harnessing data into insights, is another key step in balancing campaigns across channels. Without prioritizing analysis, waste is inevitable; finely tuning the who, what, and where can reduce and mitigate lost time and money in determing which partnerships are actually working. Stephanie J. Jensen, director of data science at Dollar General Media Network, noted at an ANA event that the company "spends a lot of time understanding the customer," and because of this, measurement is especially important to retain and gain loyal customers.
Jensen also stated that "when we were setting up our measurement, the biggest thing to us was transparency, so you know what you're getting ... we really want to be transparent, and we want you to trust what's coming out of the media network." Dollar General leverages channels ranging from OOH, video, email, social media, and programmatic. To measure the success of these different channels, Jensen shared key strategies, including:
- Closed loop reporting. Links store sales signals to media exposure
- Real time ROAS. Provides last touch attribution for in-flight optimization
- Incrementality measurement. Uses randomized control trials to measure incremental impact
Below are helpful best practices, examples, and case studies.
Best Practices and Trends
- What is Channel Marketing? Key Concepts and Six Best Practices. Channeltivity, June 2025.
What is channel marketing, really? It may seem like a natural transition for an experienced marketer — but it's really a whole other beast. Because, unlike other forms of marketing, you're not just trying to convince a buyer to buy something. You're convincing an organization to center its business around selling your product. And that's a big ask.
To help explain the nuances of channel marketing and what it takes to do it well, Channeltivity shortlisted six best practices for developing a successful channel marketing strategy based on advice from three channel marketing pros: - Adopt a "What's in It for Partners?" Mindset
- Form Strong Cross-Functional Relationships
- Pair Channel Marketing with the Partner Journey
- Use AI to Your Advantage
- Make Partners Aware of What's Available to Them
- Track Your Wins
- What Is Channel Marketing? An In-Depth Guide. Impartner.
Channel marketing is a strategic approach for promoting and selling your products or services through a variety of distribution channels. It's about reaching your customers right where they already are, using an ecosystem of connected partners to expand your company's footprint. This post covers everything you need to know to get started in channel marketing, including different types of channels, major benefits, challenges to overcome, software, strategy, and more. - Channel and Partner Ecosystem Marketing: Amplifying Growth Through Strategic Demand Generation. Demand Science.
Channel Marketing isn't just about promotion, it's about building smarter partnerships that drive real, measurable growth. This playbook shows you how to combine the power of demand generation with proven channel strategies to turn awareness into engagement, and engagement into revenue. You'll learn how to build a high-performing, demand-powered funnel; identify and activate the right channel partners; and leverage tactics like content syndication, ABM, and email to reach decision-makers at exactly the right time. From optimizing funnel stages to managing partner performance and aligning on shared goals, this guide gives you a step-by-step approach to turn strategy into scalable success. Whether you're launching a new partner program or optimizing an existing one, this playbook equips you with the tools, insights, and frameworks to make every channel marketing dollar work harder. - The State of Channel Marketing 2025 – An Overview of Channel Marketing Trends. Channel Fusion.
In 2025, the channel marketing space seems to be changing faster than ever. All the transitions in the industry are driven by advances in technology, shifting partner dynamics, and a stronger focus on personalization. While these channel marketing trends offer brands new ways to grow, they also bring challenges that require new channel marketing strategies and forward-looking approaches.
This blog talks about the biggest trends shaping channel marketing in 2025, offering practical advice for marketing leaders and channel managers. From using AI and automation to tackling cybersecurity concerns, these strategies provide a clear path for success in the future of channel marketing. - Product Marketing versus Channel Marketing. Product Marketing Alliance, April 2024.
This puts the spotlight on two heavyweights: product marketing and channel marketing. They might sound similar, and many confuse the two. This article explores what these two marketing terms even mean and the four key differences between them. - Channel Marketing Automation. ANA/Demand Metric.
This How-To Guide is designed to help companies with reseller, dealer, and distributor networks to empower their channel partners with the tools, information, and technology they need for revenue growth and profitability by using Channel Marketing Automation.
- Turning Data into Dollars: Measurement That Moves the Needle. ANA, June 2025.
During a session at a June 2025 Commerce Marketing Committee meeting, Dollar General Media Network and Goodway Group discussed preferred media channels and tips for measuring incrementality. - Executing the Big Idea Through to the Point of Purchase. ANA, August 2021.
Customers now expect personalized messaging and wow-factor brand experiences to complete the path to purchase and become brand advocates. This requires marketing teams to leverage technology and be extra creative when developing campaigns. Working with local channel partners to implement new corporate marketing initiatives adds another layer of complexity, but partners play a critical role in influencing the final steps to purchase. Speakers from BrandMuscle and ECHO Inc. shared how brands can use channel marketing programs to improve the customer experience across independent distribution points, giving customers the local experience they need to complete the path to purchase, leave rave reviews, and become repeat buyers.
Examples
- Four Real Examples of Partner + Channel Marketing Campaigns. Channeltivity, June 2025.
On the surface, channel marketing campaigns seem like direct marketing campaigns. If you've already got a good thing going, why not rinse and repeat for partners? Because each channel partner has a unique audience. To capture as many eyeballs as possible, partners need to cut through the noise — and sporadic email blasts, one-off webinars, boring one sheets, and recycled slides aren't going to do the trick. If partners aren't jazzed by the marketing assets and campaigns you're putting forward, prospects won't be either.
To infuse some excitement into your channel marketing and help you think outside the box, Channeltivity compiled a list of things to consider when putting together a new campaign, with four excellent examples as inspiration. - Unilever's B2B App's Success. ANA, July 2023.
The Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry has changed significantly over the past decade. Consumers' preferences have altered and so have the demand and supply chain pattern. The adoption of automation is one of the key reasons the FMCG industry has experienced a digital revolution.
Unilever India, the leading FMCG brand, has revolutionized the way the industry communicated with its B2B partners (wholesalers, dealers, and pharmacists). It launched Shikhar, an app that empowers its distributor network to directly order stock online with ease and convenience. It enables any time ordering, access to full Unilever assortments, easy returns, and the option of low-cost credit. This was a huge step for Unilever to make its retailers and pharmacists' future fit.
- HP Promotes New Channel Partner Program. ANA, August 2021.
To announce the launch of HP Amplify — a first-of-its-kind global channel partner program designed to drive dynamic partner growth and deliver consistent end-customer experiences — HP launched an integrated global campaign leveraging media relations, direct-to-partner communications, executive communications, virtual press events, and social media. - ROI Calculators. ANA, August 2021.
Whirlpool's Maytag Commercial Laundry ROI calculators are personalized, data-driven tools that enable a distributor to provide proof that their product recommendations will deliver a measurable return on investment for laundromat owners.
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Source
"Channel Marketing." ANA, 2025.