Different partners create value differently. Their marketing should too.
A reseller, MSP, systems integrator, ISV, affiliate, and hyperscaler may all sit in the same partner portal. That does not mean they should get the same campaign. Take the PINCH Fit Assessment and see what actually changes.
Start the assessmentWhy one-size-fits-all partner marketing quietly fails
Vendors segment partners administratively (gold, silver, bronze) but distribute one broadly standardized campaign. Partners are expected to add their logo and forward it. The combined customer story never gets built. Low adoption gets blamed on inactive partners.
Partner marketing should change according to the role the partner plays in the customer journey. Resellers need demand and sales enablement. MSPs need recurring-service narratives. Systems integrators need transformation stories. ISVs need combined-solution positioning. Affiliates need conversion-ready offers. Hyperscaler relationships need marketplace, co-sell, and field alignment.
Martin Pietrzak, Pinch Marketing
Which partner archetype are you actually working with?
Five questions. Under three minutes. The result tells you the campaign model, content, and KPIs that fit the partner in front of you, not the CRM label they carry.
What actually changes across the six partner types
Contribution, marketing objective, best campaigns, essential content, KPIs, common mistake, and Pinch POV. Pick a tab.
Side by side, by the decision that matters
Pick which dimensions you want to compare. Toggle chips on and off to filter columns.
Standardize the process, not the customer-facing story
The campaign architecture stays constant across every partner. The story, offer, and activation model must flex by partner type. That is the operating discipline that lets partner marketing scale.
The campaign architecture
- Business objective
- Priority audience
- Customer problem
- Joint value proposition
- Offer
- Activation channels
- Lead ownership
- Measurement model
- Sales follow-up
- Reporting cadence
The story, offer, and motion
- Partner role
- Industry narrative
- Customer problem framing
- Combined solution story
- Offer specifics
- Proof points
- CTA
- Channel mix
- KPIs
- Sales workflow
Eight patterns that quietly kill partner-type marketing
Check the ones that apply. We will build your watchlist and email it with the matrix.
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