Channel Marketing Explained
- Caroline Bowers-O'Donnell
- Nov 20
- 4 min read
How to grow your business through partnerships
Channel marketing is a go-to-market strategy that organisations use to harness the power of partnerships in order to expand their audience reach, generate more sales, and strengthen their brand presence.
When I first started working in marketing at a small email security company, I took on the channel priorities, not knowing really what that meant. 13 years later, I understand the complexities of the partner ecosystem, the challenges partners face and the vast potential of the channel, and I’d like to share some of my knowledge and insights with you here.
What is channel marketing?
Channel marketing is a collaborative approach where the vendor organisation works with external partners such as distributors, resellers, affiliates, or service providers to promote and sell its products or services. Instead of only selling directly to the end customer, companies can enable their partners to amplify their brand and do the selling on their behalf, by providing the tools, messaging, and incentives partners need for success.
Let's take a bakery as an example. If you imagine you run a bakery that makes bread, you could sell directly to customers from your own shop but only people who walk through your door can buy from you. So you decide to partner with local cafés, grocery stores, and restaurants as well. You educate these partners about your goods and send them promotional materials. Now, your bread reaches more customers through trusted places they already visit and everyone profits.
That’s channel marketing. You provide the product, brand, and support, and your partners bring it to their customers expanding your reach through relationships you don’t directly own.
Why does channel marketing matter?
Channel marketing is a massive opportunity for revenue growth and efficiency. 21% of respondents in the 2024 state of channel marketing report by the Channel Marketing Association say that 90-100% of their revenue comes from channel partnerships.
By leveraging distributors, resellers, and affiliates, companies can expand their customer base, reduce costs, and strengthen customer relationships in ways that direct marketing alone cannot.
The benefits of this approach include:
Increasing brand visibility: Channel marketing allows businesses to tap into new markets and customer segments by leveraging partners who already have local presence and customer trust.
Cost-effective growth: Instead of building a direct sales force, companies share costs with partners.
Leverages partner expertise: Partners often have deep knowledge of niche markets or industries, enabling them to tailor messaging and solutions more effectively.
Increases closed deals: With multiple partners promoting products simultaneously, businesses can accelerate sales cycles and increase revenue faster than relying on direct selling.
Builds stronger customer relationships: Local partners deliver tailored support and service, which enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Who can leverage channel marketing?
The following types of organisations usually have established partner programmes:
Tech vendors working with managed service providers or VARs.
Manufacturers expanding through regional distributors or retail partners.
SaaS companies teaming up with affiliates or implementation consultants.
Professional service firms co-marketing with complementary providers.
In the cybersecurity industry, I found channel marketing to be critical for driving growth. In a market where credibility and urgency drive decision-making, working with the channel is essential as the partners bridge the gap between complex technology and customer trust.
But channel marketing isn’t just for large enterprise corporations or global companies!
Any organisation that sells through or alongside other businesses can make use of this marketing tactic. If scaling your customer reach and increasing your marketing campaign impact are priorities, channel marketing is worth exploring.
What makes a successful partner programme?
It's important to have a well thought out partner programmes to stay top of mind in the channel community. 54% of respondents in the 2025 State of the Channel Report by GTIA said they participate in between 1 to 9 vendor programmes.
A successful partner programmes is built on clear business goals, mutual value, strong communication, and consistent support. It thrives when partners feel empowered, aligned, and rewarded for driving growth.
By mapping content around the partner journey, you ensure that every stage (from recruitment to advocacy) strengthens relationships and drives results.
There are different interpretations of what this journey looks like from a marketing perspective. In my experience, I recommend the following stages in which to structure your partner content and communications around.
The partner journey to success:
Recruitment | Identify and attract potential partners who align with your ideal partner personas. |
Onboarding | Welcome new partners and provide them with key resources to get started. |
Enablement | Deepen partners’ product knowledge with training and sales tools. |
Engagement | Stay top-of-mind through consistent, high-value communications and partner incentives. |
Growth | Support partners to drive demand with joint campaigns and marketing toolkits |
Advocacy | Turn top partners into brand champions through success spotlights and joint case studies |
Check out the complete guide to channel marketing by factor.ai for a deeper dive into types of channel marketing and choosing the right partners.
Common challenges in channel marketing
Here are some of the most frequent obstacles businesses encounter.
We see that the vendors are usually focused on bigger deals and faster growth, while the partners may prioritise margin or customer relationships. Without working on aligning these goals, both organisations pull in different directions.
If partners feel unsupported or unsure about expectations, they won’t invest energy into selling your products. That’s why successful partner programmes should bridge this gap by emphasising clarity, consistency, and collaboration.
Other common challenges:
Budget and staffing constraints mean marketing support is often thin at the partner companies.
Vendors sometimes don't provide consistent updates, collateral, or messaging which can create confusion around product positioning or promotions.
There is often difficulty measuring ROI as tracking performance and proving value can be complex.
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