The Delegate Survey
Our thanks to everyone who completed the survey on the day, with 35 respondents (so quite a few of you escaped to lunch when I wasn’t watching).
Firstly, we apologise for the terminology which we realised afterwards contained some very English colloquialisms; for instance, the word “in situ” which is a Latin phrase translated literally meaning on site.
We are delighted to announce we are the proud recipients of the Software and Technology Award for BEST INTERNATIONAL CHANNEL MARKETERS EVENT 2022 - wowzah.
Thanks to all our sponsors, delegates, and speakers for making this possible!
When we asked “Do you have a partner portal and/or PRM platform in situ” we simply meant, do you have a Partner Portal and PRM system.
What we found more surprising, given the guest list of vendor delegates and the size of your partner communities, 12 of the 35 respondents said NO.
Less surprising were the GAPS those who had answered YES described:
It lacks easy tracking and reporting and integration (a common theme from many)
It lacks support for an MDF program
We are unable to rate content or resources to understand who is engaging with what content or who is adopting which campaign
We do not have a proper branded experience
Ease of use is not good and portal “no bueno”
In summary only 7 respondents have a portal with which they are happy!
The majority (65%) of respondents were still happy using the BANT (budget, authority, need, timing) mechanism for lead tracking. Or perhaps that is because there are no generally accepted alternatives?
When asked about the most challenging aspects of running and managing MDF programs there was an outpouring of comments which broadly fell into the following categories.
Measuring and tracking the ROI - >50% of respondents
Engagement and adoption – 20%
Budget allocation and spread of limited budget to the right partners – 18%
Compliance – 12%
A score of 4.2 out of 5 was attributed to the level of importance you attach to personalising your content – so in effect all respondents felt it is important. However only 57% can track audience engagements against the exact marketing asset to understand what piece of content triggered an action.
With a vast 80% of respondents NOT HAPPY with their partners’ marketing performance. This is a consistent theme with respondents who answered similarly at the UK event in June.
When asked about recession it was encouraging that 60% reported growth or at least budgets remain the same.
There is, however, still a reticence to go back to LIVE meetings with >45% still opting for virtual meetings with partners.
Mostly partners are seen to be paying their own way to attend vendor events, although 33% report using MDF funding to cover partner costs.
We cover all costs for partners to attend
The final questions asked delegates to mark the event itself and make suggestions for improvement. We were delighted with the many complementary comments about the content, the interaction and networking, and the general buzz and vibe. It was informal but educational, where everyone was willing to share experiences and best practice and we can only thank everyone for making that possible.