Channel marketing’s role varies based on the type and size of the channel program it supports and the resources involved. For some channels, marketing’s role is advisory in nature; for others, it should focus on enablement and execution. Channel marketing should also work to build common processes that govern the demand creation relationship between supplier and partner.
Depending on how its resources are deployed and what type of channel it is supporting, channel marketing must be adaptive in its support of partners. In this report, we describe four distinct roles for channel marketing and list the services that each of these roles should deliver.