Marketing development funds (MDF)
Noun
[mar-ket-ing duh-vell-up-mint fun-dz]
Marketing development funds (MDFs) are resources (most often monetary, sometimes knowledge-based) that a business grants to its channel partners to aid in their sales and marketing efforts.
Marketing development funds can be used by marketers to fund a range of initiatives, but some of the most popular include brand awareness, covering the cost of sales lead list rentals, or supporting efforts like webinars and lunch-and-learns.
Marketing development funds may be distributed only to top-performing partners, or a company may employ a proposal system where all partners can apply for funding. Funds are usually given within an agreement wherein partners must be able to report on their use and ROI, which can help build a case for future or continued MDF investment.
Example: The marketing team at Lotus applied for MDF dollars from their vendor to pay for a series of radio ads. The funding led to a marked increase in brand awareness, so they decided to apply for the funding again next quarter.
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The Ultimate Guide to Partnerships for Ecosystems in 2023
Noun
[maar·kuh·tuhng paart·nr]
A marketing partner, also sometimes known as an affiliate partner, is someone who drives traffic to your properties through tracked links, and earns a cut of your profits when that traffic converts. They are able to expand the reach of your brand by promoting to their respective niche audiences.
Example: If a CRM integrates with a video marketing platform, then that CRM would be a great candidate for a marketing partner for the video platform.
Noun
[mar-ket-ing kwaa·luh·fide leed]
A marketing qualified lead (MQL) is a potential customer that was brought in through marketing efforts and satisfies the requirements to be passed on to the sales team. MQLs can be used by marketing teams to assess the quality and quantity of leads they generate. They can be an important key performance indicator (KPI) for marketing teams to track.
Example: An obvious benefit of marketing promotion of a partner programs is their ability to bring in marketing qualified leads.
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