Super Mario Power Ups For Your Ecosystem Partners on MDF Programs

If you belong to my generation, you have surely played Super Mario — an amazing series from Nintendo. It had the perfect amount of nervous excitement, ease of use, and necessary power-ups to amplify Mario to beat the bad guys! Without the power-ups, Mario wouldn’t be ‘Super’ after all.

The tech ecosystem is abuzz with digital transformation — technology can amplify people into Super Marios with better automation and AI. However, most technology companies that operate Market Development Funds (MDF) for their ecosystem partners have not applied digital transformation to power-up their ecosystem partners, marketing services agencies, and their frontline partner marketing managers to achieve exponential results with less costs. Here is how to do it better!

1. Planning

Most MDF programs are planned and approved on a tactical activity by activity approval process. We know that the top 10% of partners drive 90% of revenue impact. These strategic partners want you to treat them as strategic planners with approval of annual/half-yearly marketing plans.

What to do differently? Instead of throwing an activity submission form at partners, invite them to create a shared marketing plan—collect best ideas from both companies and add data driven suggestions based on top performing campaigns / partners. Use data you already have as a “power-up” to make suggestions.

2. Approval

MDF program approvals lack trust and transparency by design—most partners consider it their right and are disappointed at delayed approvals. The squeakiest wheel gets the approval as loud voices drown good ideas.

What to do differently? Instead of a closed door process, give partners shared access to their plan and transparently collaborate with comments on goals and planned activities. Instead of seeing approvals one by one across many partners, think of them as a portfolio of investments with a reward vs. risk. Your partners will know exactly where the proposal is in the workflow. Shape and approve the whole plan as a portfolio.

3. Execution

Most partners execute campaigns without any engagement from the MDF owner’s marketing teams. MDF programs skip the execution part, activities are set in stone, and then they are surprised at a lack of performance when it comes to reimbursements time. We all know the dynamic nature of market conditions we operate in, and yet, MDF programs make it super hard to change parameters of execution once agreed.

What to do differently? Augment your MDF capability with ability to track campaign assets and in-flight activity results. Make achievement of the campaign goals primary driver of decisions — allow planned activity and assets to change. Power-up your partner with a Marketing Services Agency based on type of campaign / region and get them engaged right from an early stage. They win more business, but are now results-driven and informed of changing strategy. This also kills poorly performing campaigns early and reallocates more money towards a partner’s better performing campaigns.

4. Claims

Most partners hate the claim process attached to MDF. Who likes conforming to complex rules, facing audits, and solving disputes? Collecting a claim package is often seen as a burden—remembering complex rules sets it up as an ironman triathlon where proof of execution, performance, and success is sequentially tested.

What to do differently? This area is in need of AI the most. If you plan, approve, and execute on a common platform, AI can automatically create a claim package at the end of the activity based on rules for the activity type. This includes goals, results, assets, and activities performed—and MSA invoices received. It’s like giving Mario a power-up to do claims. In the very near future, AI can check for logos in images, identify resubmitted documents from prior claims, and audit partners based on risk while most are auto-approved. Partners will work hard to establish themselves as low-risk based on reputation as a clean processor of claims. Risk-based monitoring of clinical trails in the pharmaceutical industry, for example, has reduced the cost of monitoring by a lot.

5. Insights

Your partners crave feedback. Most MDF programs do not give insights back to partners (it’s kept to the vendor!). The gaps are not identified and communicated. The wins are not celebrated. Aggregate feedback on the overall program and how a specific partner contributed to it is rarely shared.

What to do differently? Add an insights service to your MDF program. Identify emerging gaps, hot ideas, and key performers. Growing demand is hard, so celebrate high performing campaigns, share them with other regions, and amplify them.

This blog was from a partner’s perspective. In the following blogs, we can explore your company’s partner marketing manager, a marketing services agency’s manager, or a claims manager’s perspective as well.

Did this resonate with you? Would love to hear your thoughts.