How to Use Data to Enhance Partner Marketing Maturity and Boost Sales
Channel marketing is a vibrant, multifaceted field where diverse partners such as local marketers, affiliates, or distributors play a vital role.
Each of these channel partners, with varying levels of marketing maturity, employs unique strategies and tactics, and they target distinct audiences. This variety is a strength that fosters creativity and allows for tailored approaches to different markets. However, it also presents a significant challenge for the corporate channel marketing team: How can you analyze and identify effective strategies and content that translate into sales?
Data Analysis of the Future
Traditional methods of data analysis require time, specialized skills, and, in many cases, the support of a data science team. But even with these resources, deciphering what works, why it works, and how it can be replicated often feels like a precarious attempt to predict an unpredictable future. This sense of unpredictability and complexity can lead to uncertainty, making it difficult for marketing teams to strategize and optimize their approaches confidently. But what if we could leverage technology to help shed light on these patterns and correlations?
Enter artificial intelligence (AI). AI can revolutionize the way we handle and interpret data in channel marketing. With its ability to process large volumes of data, AI can identify trends and relationships that might not be readily visible to the human eye. In other words, AI can transform raw data into actionable recommendations for channel partners, guiding their efforts toward strategies that lead to successful sales conversions.
Enhance Your Affiliates’ Local Marketing Maturity
Take, for example, one of our clients who used AI to optimize their channel partner strategies. Their channel partners answered a survey about the marketing tools they used, and a machine-learning recommendation engine then suggested new tools based on specific variables related to the channel partner, such as geography, product lines they sell, and their captive market.
The system then monitored whether the channel partner interacted with the recommended tools and linked these actions to month-over-month sales growth. By correlating tool interaction with sales across thousands of channel partners, the AI recommendation engine was able to suggest the right tools to the right channel partners to boost their sales.
Common AI Misconceptions
Channel marketing teams must tackle common misconceptions about implementing AI in their strategies. For instance, many believe that AI solutions can only target specific areas and cannot encompass the overall channel marketing ecosystem.
The truth is, even if an AI solution starts by solving a particular problem, it’s a crucial first step, particularly for organizations that are just beginning their digital transformation journey. Starting small allows teams to develop comfort with new technology and learn as they go.
AI’s potential in channel marketing extends beyond analyzing data and recommending strategies. It can also dramatically change the marketing focus, shifting towards bottom-of-the-funnel actions rather than just raising awareness. This means AI will enable unprecedented levels of personalization and scale, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing efforts.
Win Your Local Markets With AI
When integrating AI into your strategy and processes, your channel marketing team should identify areas where they face repeated tasks or lack insights. These are the immediate areas where AI tools can fill the gap or enhance efficiency within the channel.
Navigating through the sea of local marketing data and making sense of it is a challenge, but with AI, we can turn this challenge into a strength.
It’s time to embrace the potential of AI and elevate your channel marketing strategies to the next level. Book a demo to usher in an era of enhanced marketing maturity and sales growth.
