In my last article, I discussed the growing demand for Marketing Operations professionals. The response I have had tells me that tech businesses are thinking hard about how they structure and optimise their marketing teams.
There’s another marketing function that’s seeing significant growth right now—partner marketing. If Marketing Operations is about enabling efficiency and effectiveness internally, partner marketing is about amplifying a company’s reach externally through strategic relationships. And right now, tech businesses are investing heavily in this function.
Why is partner marketing on the rise?
Tech companies, especially SaaS and enterprise technology firms, increasingly rely on partnerships to scale. Whether it’s alliances with software vendors, cloud platforms, resellers, or system integrators, the right partnerships can open up entirely new customer bases. But these relationships don’t manage themselves.
A skilled partner marketer can:
- Develop joint value propositions that resonate with shared audiences
- Enable partners with the right messaging, content, and sales tools
- Create and execute co-marketing campaigns that drive demand for both parties
- Align internal teams—sales, marketing, product—around partnership success
What makes a great partner marketer?
Hiring a partner marketer isn’t just about finding someone with ‘partner marketing’ in their job history. The best candidates typically have:
✅ Strong relationship-building skills—partners are external stakeholders, requiring high emotional intelligence and the ability to influence without direct authority.
✅ A strategic mindset—they see the bigger picture and align partnership goals with business objectives.
✅ A deep understanding of the tech ecosystem—knowing how vendors, resellers, and integrators work together is key.
✅ Excellent communication skills—because partner marketing is as much about internal alignment as external execution.
Challenges when hiring
Based on what I’ve seen, common pitfalls in hiring partner marketers include:
- Misunderstanding the role: Partner marketing is not the same as demand generation or field marketing. It requires a mix of strategic thinking and execution ability.
- Overlooking ecosystem knowledge: The best candidates understand how partnerships work within the broader tech landscape.
- Focusing too much on sales experience: While sales collaboration is important, partner marketers need marketing expertise to drive engagement and co-marketing success.
How to attract and retain top partner marketing talent
Partner marketers are in demand, so businesses need to offer compelling reasons to join. Key factors include:
- Clear career progression: Many partner marketers are looking for paths to leadership roles.
- Support for co-marketing initiatives: Providing budget and resources for joint campaigns can be a big draw.
- Cross-functional collaboration: Partner marketers thrive in environments where they work closely with sales, marketing, and product teams.
Key interview questions to identify strong candidates
To assess candidates effectively, consider asking:
- “Can you share an example of a successful co-marketing campaign you executed with a partner?”
- “How do you approach enabling partners with marketing content and tools?”
- “What’s your strategy for aligning internal teams around partnership success?”
- “How do you measure the effectiveness of partner marketing initiatives?”
Looking ahead
As partnerships become a bigger growth driver, partner marketing will only become more critical. If you’re hiring in this space, it’s worth investing in the right talent.
I’d love to hear your thoughts—have you seen more demand for partner marketing roles? If you’re in a partner marketing function, what’s been your biggest challenge or success recently?
