Channel marketing skills under threat
Tendency to merge role with other aspects of the business has raised concerns in the industry
There are dangers that the increasing combination of field and marketing teams is diluting skills across the channel.
According to a Coterie report, only 15% of partner marketeers are working under independent teams.
The consequences if the erosion of standalone teams is a risk to the levels of marketing skills held across the channel.
There were already fears that levels of marketing expertise were low for the channel, and this latest report will add to those concerns.
Coterie’s 2025 Partner marketing skills report: Trends, gaps and opportunities calls for action to be taken to protect the skills that exist and acknowledge the dangers of merging roles.
Jo Dunkley, co-founder of Coterie, said that confidence and credibility were undermined by merging field and marketing roles.
“At the heart of this shift is a mix of budget pressure and misunderstanding,” she said. “Many C-level executives assume that partner marketing can just piggyback on field marketing efforts, using the same content, campaigns and creative. And because teams often share martech systems, there’s a belief that combining roles will create efficiency. But what’s being lost are the specialist skills that actually make partner marketing work.”
Marketing skills
The report urged greater investment in marketing skills, and for increased levels of training to enable marketeers to embrace fresh technology and deliver a confident service to their businesses.
There were signs that artificial intelligence (AI) could benefit marketing teams and encourage more support from those making funding and structural business decisions.
When asked to identify the skills that would be needed in the next five years, the findings conducted in partnership with Sapio Research placed martech and digital marketing as those at the top of the list, but there was an awareness AI and automation were becoming increasingly important. There were signs that gaining a better grip on data and analytics was also going to rise up the list in the future.
Helen Curtis, co-founder of Coterie, said the findings showed the impact AI and data analysis was already having on marketeers.
“Senior executives place a lot of value on data and the certainty that data provides,” she said. “By using AI, data and analytics, channel marketers can better demonstrate ROI, something that could finally secure the budget increases that partner marketing has long needed.”
AI training
AI was one of the areas where channel marketeers indicated they required more training if they were to be able to exploit the technology.
Barnaby Wood, director of product management at data management player Arctera, said many marketeers recognised the need to be adaptable, largely as a consequence of their changing remit and the introduction of fresh technologies.
“The watering-down of focus on dedicated partner marketing we’re seeing in many organisations means that those who do retain the skills are forced to widen their remit, driving the need for adaptability,” he said.
“The corollary, of course, is that some of the key skills of partner marketers, crucial in building strong relationships, and distinct from field marketing skills, become less highly valued,” said Wood. “Ultimately, the loser in all of this is the relationships within our ecosystems.”
Coterie has called for greater collaboration across partner marketing systems as it promotes the community and urges the development of more skills.
