As we prepare to step into 2024, it's crucial to look ahead and anticipate the trends and innovations that will define the partnerships industry in the coming year. In this edition of Partnerships NOW newsletter, we're thrilled to showcase expert foresight and expertise, guiding us through the shifting landscape of partnerships in 2024. 

What are the emerging technologies that will redefine collaboration? What trends are poised to disrupt traditional partnership models? What key strategies will empower organizations to navigate the complex landscape of alliances in the coming year? How are shifting consumer behaviors reshaping the partnership narrative?

These are the questions that will echo throughout. So sit back, grab a cup of tea, and read on to gain perspective from industry thought leaders who have a lens into the forces at play, and uncover trends and technologies that will drive change into the new year.

How do you foresee the role of partnerships evolving in 2024, and what major trends do you expect to shape this evolution?

"Partnerships will continue to be rooted in mutual trust, respect, and commitment between partners to drive joint value to shared customers.

Commercial marketplaces will allow partnerships to reach more customers, simplify sales, and unlock opportunities to grow.

Marketplaces will continue to be prevalent in how a partner can sell directly to the partnership customers, selling through the partner ecosystem and expanding co-sell with joint selling.

Generative AI will also continue to play a big role, streamlining productivity for the products/services of partnerships but also how new partnerships form based on the possibilities and opportunities of AI.

Copilots will also surface to help automate productivity tasks including how partners may engage based on the data in partner relationship management solutions." - Brian Galicia , Microsoft

"I see 2024 as the year of 'hyper-focus' from both Vendors and Partners. Vendors are feeling the squeeze of limited resources, time, and energy. Vendors will have to define their ideal partner profile and focus on the right partners, the ones that will impact mutually beneficial outcomes the most. Likewise, partners will have to define the ideal vendor profiles and focus on those relationships that are most important to their outcomes.

So what does this mean?

Vendors will have to get smarter about the partners they directly manage. Partners will also get smarter about the vendors they work with. This 'squeezing' of the resources is making everyone become hyper-focused on where they spend their time, resources, and energy. Vendors will have to invest in partners that are strategic to them, building rock-solid trusted relationships between vendor and partner. Vendors will also have to invest in the people that they entrust this relationship to - the PAMs or CAMs (whatever you call them in your company) - to give them the knowledge and skills to transform these transactional partner relationships into strategic partnerships. In a world where things are only going to get further resource contained, and even more complex, trusted relationships will become the new currency that allows us to succeed." - Jessica Baker , AchieveUnite

"Almost every industry is morphing to an 'as-a-service' business model based upon digital interactions. But eBusiness/eCommerce has not taken work away from channel partners (there has been no 'dis-intermediation'). No, the channel has become even more influential and advocational for all businesses. However, channel partners are now more likely to live off revenues earned from the buyers, than from the manufacturer they now, only occasionally, represent.

Plus, in addition to resellers or distributors, we now have channel players called affiliates, referrers, associations, communities, groups, and ambassadors. Most importantly, the whole relationship is now primarily based upon digital interactions and depends less on partner account managers on the street." - Peter O'Neill , Research In Action

"Thankfully we have seen diversity and inclusion continue to gain importance over the last few years, whilst I expect to see this continue in 2024 we still have a long way to go in our industry. Partners can be impactful in driving diversity and inclusion and can help companies identify areas for improvement whilst holding themselves accountable for progress." - Amy Roberts , PartnerPath

What emerging technologies or innovations do you believe will have the most significant impact on partnerships next year?

"In today’s world, I do not think that traditional PRM or TCMA is enough for any company that is working, marketing, and selling in a true digital manner. Most manufacturers have a channel software stack consisting of many parts; perhaps a TCMA system, plus a PRM, and usually other software tools that the PRM does not cover. With smaller volumes and, more-or-less, manual channel management, this was less problematic. In a more digital business world, with higher volumes of transactions, transaction types, partners, and partner types, companies will want a more comprehensive and, more importantly, fully integrated platform for Partner Management Automation. That is how I am approaching my new research into channel management to be published in Q1 2024." - Peter O'Neill , Research In Action

"The concept of a metaverse being the future of the internet might seem a little futuristic for some, but a virtual world that integrates augmented reality, virtual reality, and other immersive technologies to create a shared online space is so close we can smell it. Our expectations in life are all moving toward this future and partnerships are no exception. Whilst I think we are a way off your 3D avatar attending QBRs with partners, the need for digital collaboration is table stakes to the channel game." - Amy Roberts , PartnerPath

"AI came on the scene big in 2023 and I believe it will continue to be part of the conversion in 2024. As more tools become available, adoption will rise and we will start to see some of this 'AI-Driven Channel' that we have all been waiting for. As companies adopt an AI strategy and make this available to employees, we can unlock the hidden gold in the data, we can start to serve partners in a very relevant way and use the insights to drive partner relationships to a higher strategic level." - Jessica Baker , AchieveUnite

With the ongoing digital transformation, how will the landscape of B2B partnerships change, and what strategies do you anticipate to be key to success?

"My survey of 1,500 businesses about their Partner Management Automation challenges and favorite vendors is now in and the landscape has changed dramatically from 2021. Many tech vendors now have an ecosystem of digital services and need to sell subscription-based services via partners, through app stores, and even anything-as-a-service (XaaS) offerings based on their equipment and digital services." - Peter O'Neill , Research In Action

"To effectively respond to the dynamic shifts in the market landscape, it is imperative to reassess and adapt your Go-To-Market (GTM) mix. With the notable growth in marketplaces and managed services, it is crucial to align your strategy with customer preferences. This entails identifying key trends, understanding your customer's buying behavior, and adjusting your GTM approach accordingly.

Simultaneously, evaluate and enhance your partner portfolio by identifying strategic partners with expertise in these emerging areas. Streamline onboarding processes, implement robust enablement programs, and design incentives tailored to encourage partners to focus on high-demand segments. The goal is to swiftly activate partners with the right training and resources, ensuring they are well-equipped to navigate and capitalize on the opportunities presented by marketplaces and managed services. When fully activated, move these partners into co-innovation, marketing, and sales initiatives.

In addition to rethinking the GTM mix, prioritize speed and agility in decision-making processes. Establish feedback loops with partners to gather real-time insights into market trends and customer preferences. Regularly reassess the market landscape and be agile in adjusting strategies to capitalize on emerging opportunities. This proactive approach, coupled with effective enablement and incentive programs, will position your business to successfully navigate and thrive during these transformational times" - Kristine Stewart , Spur Reply

With changing consumer behaviors, how can partnerships adapt and cater to evolving customer preferences?

"The digital age ushered in a new model where the customer defines their own buying journey which is typically non-linear and heavily reliant on digital interactions. The value partners provide has shifted from offering product knowledge to implementing, integrating, and operating technology solutions. These shifts in the buyer journey have changed the characteristics of the partner and their activities with customers and how vendors need to engage and empower partners for success. The full report can be found here .

1. Customers are expecting business outcomes. As buyers demand outcomes to their business needs and partners invest more in specialization, vendors need to enhance their partner training and playbooks to incorporate vertical business solutions.

2. Producing business outcomes requires complex solutions. The growth of cloud/subscription models is going to continue to elevate this need to work with other solution providers and 80% of solution providers tell us they want help from the vendor in facilitating these partner-to-partner relationships.

3. Emerging line of business buyers. The challenge for vendors is to create partner programs that accommodate a wide variety of partner business models. Vendor incentives need to align with each partner’s unique financial needs and interests. Partners that only consult aren’t motivated by discounts from list prices.

4. Customers are purchasing as a subscription. Most IT vendors would like their partners to manage and secure the renewal. However, they have not made the programmatic, training, or compensation shifts in their partner ecosystem. By changing the partner performance metrics to include a measure of customer success (adoption) or at least renewal growth (churn) and training partners on customer success methodologies vendors can ensure consistent and constant customer engagement that leads to an increase in customer lifetime revenue.

5. Customers are researching online. The top five roles vendors want partners to play in the customer sales and success cycle are all early-stage influence activities: creating customer interest/awareness, discovering business needs and desired outcomes, providing advice through pre-sales architectural, business process or assessment services, recommending a technology solution and influencing the brand decision. Vendors need to decouple resell from the value partners provide throughout the buyer journey and help the partners be more visible during the early stages of the buyer journey.

6. Customers are transacting online. Services are the new arena of conflict between vendors and channel partners. 20 years ago, we as an industry, instituted deal registration processes and technologies to minimize the conflict around the transaction. Today, both the vendor and the solution provider are fighting for these lucrative services. Vendors have got to minimize the conflict with their own services team to provide for a healthy partner ecosystem." - Diane Krakora , PartnerPath

How will data analytics and AI play a role in optimizing partnership performance and decision-making in the partnerships industry next year?

"2024 will produce more AI models that are company-approved and meaningful for driving our partner relationships. I call this the 'AI-Driven Channel'. AI has the potential to help us glean insights from data that has been historically locked away and the analytics that will be at our fingertips will transform how we manage partner relationships. We will finally have the opportunity to make our interactions super relevant by partner, by role and that will flow into everything we do with partners - from enablement to sales to marketing to business planning." - Jessica Baker , AchieveUnite

What do you foresee will be the top three success metrics partnership teams will be measuring in 2024?

"1. Partner Contribution: we've moved from measuring reselling volume to partner 'influence'. How are partners assisting you at each stage in the customer journey?

2. Partner Experience: experience drives engagement and engagement drives contribution. What is the partner's overall experience with you across your people, processes, and systems?

3. Partner Profitability: partners invest in growing with vendors that increase their profitability. What are the partner's investments in building a practice on your technology and the revenues generated in selling/deploying/managing the solution?" - Diane Krakora , PartnerPath

Given the ongoing economic uncertainties, what strategies should businesses employ to ensure the financial viability of their partnership initiatives in 2024?

"In a world filled with economic uncertainties, partner ecosystem leaders must ensure that they have the data needed to back their partner initiatives in 2024. We are already seeing companies looking for opportunities to cut costs and the channel has been hit hard. Leaders must arm themselves with the data to defend their spending on all fronts whether it be headcount, tools, programs, or incentives.

Financial metrics must be able to clearly and accurately showcase the positive financial impact and benefit of partnerships. This could include revenue generated from partners, speed to close from partners, cost savings realized from using partnerships, or other improvements that partnerships drive for profitability. The financial metrics can be capped off with customer success stories that highlight real-world examples created for end-users through partner relationships.

Leaders can prepare for budget contraction on their partnering tools by clearly understanding the system benefits and usage stats. If the partner usage for your tools is not there look at enhancing the partner experience and other ways to get partners to use the systems you are spending money on. You can also look at the savings and efficiencies realized by supporting partners with tools vs. people. Without strong usage data, it will be hard to defend your system spend.

Leaders using data as the backbone of 2024 initiatives will be armed with the things needed to navigate the economic uncertainties and ensure their partnership goals come to fruition." - Raegan Wilson, MBA , Spur Reply

"Ensuring financial viability of partner incentives should be top of mind as we enter 2024 following a bumpy 2023 and more pot-holes ahead to navigate. Focus on bringing it back to basics with partnerships. Check that you still share a common goal and nurture that aligned outcome with shared accountability. Use the technology and tools available to scale whilst closing the gaps and stay on your toes to grab those opportunities with both hands before someone beats you to it." - Amy Roberts , PartnerPath