Channel Partners Split On Plans For Marketing Budgets In 2023

Slightly more than half of the channel partners responding to a “quick poll” by Candefero, an exclusive on-line community for the IT channel, are planning to increase their marketing budgets in 2023. But while 24% of the respondents said they will keep their marketing budgets at the same level, the remaining quarter of the respondents plan to make cuts.

Of those planning to increase their spending, about half will boost their budgets by more 10%. Cuts of more than 10% are planned by 12% of the respondents.

Since the pandemic, nearly 70% of the respondents increased their digital marketing activities. The survey suggested that digital marketing was vital to helping partners engage new customers.

Of those, almost a third of the respondents said the digital marketing efforts attract new and existing customers. But 20% said it was most effective in engaging new customers, while 18% saw an impact on existing customers.

The respondents voiced mixed reactions about the value they see in vendor-provided channel marketing support. More than a quarter of the respondents – 28% — see vendor marketing support as “extremely important.” Just about a third of the partners see it as somewhat complementary to their own marketing. The remaining partners can “do with it” (13%); find it useless (11%); or don’t make use of any vendor channel marketing (16%).

The results of the Candefero poll taken in September were based on responses from 252 channel professionals worldwide. The results were reported by Canalys, an independent analyst company.