Most partner marketing reports are fluff. Logo placement, webinar attendance, some “brand awareness” language no one’s checking.
Meanwhile, you’ve got partners burning MDF (Market Development Funds) on campaigns that feel good but don’t move pipeline.
If you want partner marketing to be a growth channel, not a checkbox, you need better metrics. The kind that show who’s pulling weight, not just spending budget.
Start With Shared Pipe, Not Shared Spend
What matters isn’t how much MDF was used. It’s what came back.
Track:
– Partner-sourced pipeline
– Partner-influenced pipeline
– Win rate on co-sourced deals
These tell you if the campaigns are converting, not just running.
Attribute by Account, Not Channel
Most attribution models break with partners. A webinar here, a co-branded guide there, it’s scattered.
Fix it at the account level. Did this campaign warm up an account that closed later? Track deal influence, not just UTM clicks.
Don’t Just Count Leads. Score Them.
If a partner brings you 50 names and none show up in meetings, that’s noise.
Create a scoring system:
– Sales accepted?
– Meeting booked?
– Use case match?
You’re not tracking reach. You’re tracking motion.
Measure Velocity, Not Just Volume
How fast do co-marketed leads convert? If they close 2x faster, that’s leverage, even if raw numbers are lower. Highlight that. Double down.
Watch Rep Engagement
Track which AEs are co-selling, following up, and logging activity. The best partner campaigns make the sales team’s job easier. If they’re ignoring the leads, something’s off.
Share Wins. Flag Ghosts.
For every campaign, close the loop:
– What worked?
– Who closed?
– Who went silent?
This builds trust and filters out the partners who love the logo swap but disappear at forecast time.
Partner marketing can scale like demand gen. But only if you treat it like revenue, not PR.
Forget the MDF form.
Follow the deal.
That’s the metric that matters.
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