How does the Partner Marketing function work? Which metrics do you focus on and how do you collaborate with different teams internally?

Partner Marketing serves as the strategic engine that drives mutual growth through partner relationships. Here's how it operates: Core Responsibilities: Strategic Channel Management 1) Oversee company positioning across partner-owned channels 2) Develop and maintain partner program marketing materials and web presence 3) Create enablement resources that drive partner engagement and success Integrated Campaign Execution 1) Incorporate partners into company marketing initiatives where strategically valuable 2) Co-create targeted campaigns that generate mutual business opportunities 3) Coordinate joint marketing activities that leverage both brands' strengths Program Operations 1) Manage marketing operations for the partner program 2) Develop and maintain partner-facing content and resources 3) Drive program awareness in target markets Key Performance Metrics: Partner Engagement 1) Percentage of active partners in the ecosystem 2) Level of partner participation in marketing initiatives 3) Partner satisfaction and program adoption rates Business Impact: 1) Lead generation through partner channels 2) Revenue attributed to partner marketing activities 3) ROI of co-marketing investments Our primary stakeholders are the Partnership team and the marketing team (sorry that's an obvious answer!) We make sure we're aligned with the partnership team by focusing marketing efforts on their most strategic partners and supporting their business goals through marketing activities. Specifically we join the weekly partner team meetings and also meet 1-1 with the partner leader of each program. In my personal experience, Partner marketing sits within the marketing organization, so we're always in tune with the marketing team's priorities and are brought in to different teams' initiatives to drive additional value through partners.

My role in Partner Marketing focuses on nurturing and engaging partners with to-partner focused programs. A big part of my work involves keeping partners engaged with the company's marketing content and sales activity, so one of my goals is building mindshare so that our company is top-of-mind next to 12 other vendors our partners are working with, some also in the low-code space. To achieve this, I run regular newsletters, partner-exclusive virtual and in-person events where partners can get together with other partners, but also our company's executives and sales teams, and ready-to-use digital campaign kits designed for minimal customization. On a day-to-day basis, I'm looking at campaign responses from partners to track engagement. Broadening the scope for the sum of the tactics, I'm looking at net new partner seller contacts and engagement, and marketing influence opportunities. Other usual metrics in Partner Marketing include the number of sales-qualified opportunities, marketing-qualified leads, deal registrations, new ARR, etc. Internally, collaboration is key. On top of the great Partner Marketing Team I'm part of, I'm working closely with our channel and sales teams to ensure that our to-partner motions address priority topics and provide tangible value. Regular touchpoints with the partner sales and technical enablement teams ensure that we align on the tools, strategies, and agendas needed to help partners succeed. My guiding principle is simple: partners are an extension of our team. When they succeed, we succeed, so our job is to empower them with the resources they need to thrive.

Partner Marketing at Snowflake was about scaling Marketing for Snowflake with Partners. So we focused on scaling various functions Marketing and measured accordingly. Typically Partner Marketing will have yearly targets around partner involvement in Marketing activity like joint pipeline, joint customer success examples, and investments in activities. And then it is important to focus on quarterly targets which focus on large initiatives. Collaboration with different teams is dependent on how bought in is the leadership on commitment to partners. At Snowflake we were lucky that the leadership was very committed to partners. Thus from the beginning all teams collaborated and thought about bringing in partners. It is important to have strong collaboration with the Partner team, demand generation teams (online and field marketing), and product launch teams (PR, Product Marketing etc). At Snowflake we would make sure to share our priorities, yearly targets and quarterly goals with all teams regularly. And at times the Partner marketing team set the goals 2 - 3 quarters ahead of every one else, thus making sure we were ahead of all campaign planning processes. We even shared our priorities with our partners before the beginning of a fiscal year, thus making sure any joint planning / execution can focus on these.

At Intercom, Partner Marketing is integrated deeply within the demand generation team (specifically Integrated Marketing), rather than being a standalone function. This setup fosters better collaboration, as the partner marketing lead is in tune with both the overall marketing strategies and the needs of the partnership team. This collaboration enables smoother planning and more efficient execution, allowing us to align partner activities with broader marketing goals, such as product launches or thematic campaigns. Collaboration is key: by working closely with content, product marketing, sales, customer success, and other teams, we can seamlessly integrate partners into existing marketing motions. This leads to more impactful campaigns and stronger alignment on goals. The key metrics we track include both sales and marketing indicators. On the sales side, metrics like referrals, source deals, and influenced ARR are essential. On the marketing side, we focus on acquired leads, reengaged leads, and the progression of these leads through the funnel (e.g., MQLs, S2s, closed deals). Integration installs and app usage are also critical, as they reflect direct engagement with the partner ecosystem. Over time, we track how deeper integration usage correlates with improvements in LTV, ACV, retention, and churn, helping us understand the long-term value of these partnerships. For teams just starting out, simpler metrics like event registrations and webinar attendance can provide early indicators of campaign success.