OVERVIEW
What Is a Partner Marketing Manager?
A partner marketing manager plays a critical role in business partnerships. They create, manage, and execute marketing initiatives involving multiple teams and companies. A partner marketing manager is a master collaborator and communicator who can easily navigate complex relationships. They work closely with sales, product, and marketing teams to develop strategies that benefit each partner. A partner marketing manager may create joint marketing campaigns, manage sponsorship agreements, or establish co-branded content to increase visibility and generate leads for both companies. This dynamic role requires a unique blend of strategic thinking, problem-solving, and excellent communication skills to ensure a win-win outcome for all parties involved.
RESPONSIBILITIES
What Does a Partner Marketing Manager Do?
The day-to-day duties of a partner marketing manager include:
- Developing and executing strategies: A partner marketing manager is responsible for developing and implementing strategies to build relationships with partners and increase revenue. This includes creating marketing campaigns, running promotions, and providing partners with resources such as training materials and product updates.
- Analyzing performance: The partner marketing manager must also analyze partner programs’ performance to identify improvement areas. This includes tracking key metrics such as conversion rates, customer satisfaction, and revenue generated from each partner.
- Managing budgets: The partner marketing manager manages the budget allocated to partner programs to ensure that funds are utilized efficiently and effectively. This includes negotiating pricing with partners, monitoring spending, and ensuring that all invoices are paid on time.
- Building relationships: The partner marketing manager must build strong relationships with partners to foster trust and collaboration between two (or more) organizations. This involves regularly communicating with partners, attending events, and supporting them when needed.
- Identifying opportunities: The partner marketing manager should constantly look for opportunities to grow existing partnerships or create new ones that benefit both organizations. This involves researching potential partners, analyzing their offerings, and negotiating the terms of any agreements that may be made between the two companies.
- Supporting partners: In addition to building relationships and identifying opportunities, the partner marketing manager must also provide ongoing support to existing partners to ensure their success with the company’s products or services. This includes providing training materials, answering questions about products or services, resolving customer issues quickly, and helping them optimize their use of the company’s products or services for maximum benefit.
- Reporting results: The partner marketing manager is responsible for reporting results back to management regularly to track progress toward goals set by the organization's leadership team. This includes providing detailed reports on performance metrics such as engagement rates, website visits from partner referrals, lead generation numbers from campaigns run through partners' networks, and more so that management can make informed decisions about future investments in partnership programs.
EDUCATION & BEST DEGREES
How Do I Become a Partner Marketing Manager?
First, you'll need a bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, or a related field. From there, gaining experience through internships or entry-level marketing positions is essential. This will allow you to build a solid foundation of marketing knowledge and also give you the opportunity to network and make connections in the industry. Once you've gained experience, you can start looking for opportunities in partner marketing. These positions involve working with external organizations to create and execute joint marketing campaigns. Additionally, marketing managers also obtain a Master’s in Marketing or an MBA to increase their salary and job prospects.
Where Does a Partner Marketing Manager Work?
These talented professionals can be found in various industries, from tech companies to retail giants. They can work in-house for a specific brand, company, or agency that manages multiple clients.
Best Degrees for a Partner Marketing Manager
Business
Marketing – B.S. Business Administration
For those who want to lead brands and steer consumer markets:...
For those who want to lead brands and steer consumer markets:
- Time: 60% of graduates finish within 19 months.
- Tuition: $3,755 per 6-month term.
- Courses: 41 total courses in this program.
Skills for your résumé you will learn in this program include:
- Communication
- Marketing
- Sales
- Management
- Project Management
- Product Management
Marketing is a creative and exciting field—and one where an undergraduate degree will open better opportunities.
Business
Marketing – M.S.
Two online marketing master's degree options with a focus on either...
Two online marketing master's degree options with a focus on either digital marketing or marketing analytics.
- Time: 61% of graduates finish WGU master's programs in 18 months
- Tuition: $4,530 per 6-month term
- Courses: 10 total courses in this program
- Specialization: Students choose from two specializations to focus their marketing studies on digital marketing or marketing analytics
Skills for your résumé that you will learn in this program:
- Management
- Strategic Planning
- Digital Marketing Analytics
- Presentations
- Market Research
- Communications
A marketing master's degree will help you prepare for a wide range of exciting marketing careers.
Business
Master of Business Administration
The flexible MBA program you need, focused on business management,...
The flexible MBA program you need, focused on business management, strategy, and leading teams:
- Time: Graduates can finish in 12 months
- Tuition: $4,755 per 6-month term
- Courses: 11 total courses in this program
Skills for your résumé you will learn in this program include:
- Leadership strategies
- Talent management
- Communication
- Data collection and interpretation
- Financial statements
Our competency-based model gives you an innovative learning experience you won't find anywhere else—and our MBA grads tell us they loved accelerating their program to see a faster ROI.
How Much Does a Partner Marketing Manager Make?
$140,040
While partner marketing managers can earn a wide range of salaries, the median pay for this position is around $140,040 annually. Of course, this number can vary based on factors like location, industry, and company size.
What Is the Job Outlook for a Partner Marketing Manager?
6%
Employment of advertising, promotions, and marketing managers is projected to grow by 6% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the average for all occupations.
SKILLS
What Skills Does a Partner Marketing Manager Need?
A successful partner marketing manager demonstrates a variety of skills, most notably:
- Business acumen: A partner marketing manager needs to understand the business landscape and how different strategies can be used to achieve success. They should be able to analyze data, identify trends, and develop strategies aligning with the company’s goals. Additionally, they should understand financial concepts such as budgeting and forecasting.
- Relationship building: Partner marketing managers need to be able to build strong relationships with their partners. This involves having excellent communication skills, understanding each partner’s needs, and developing trust-based relationships. They also need to be able to negotiate effectively to ensure that both parties get what they want from the partnership.
- Strategic thinking: Partner marketing managers need strong strategic thinking skills to develop effective marketing plans for their partners. This includes identifying opportunities for growth, creating innovative solutions, and evolving strategies to help their partners reach their goals. They should also understand how different channels such as email, social media, and search engine optimization can be used together for maximum impact.
- Creative problem-solving: Partner marketing managers must have strong problem-solving skills to troubleshoot issues arising during a campaign or partnership agreement. They should be able to develop creative, specialized solutions that will benefit both parties involved in the partnership. Additionally, they should be able to anticipate potential problems before they arise and develop plans on how best to address them if needed.
- Project management: Partner marketing managers need to be adept at project management to ensure that all campaigns run smoothly from start to finish. This includes understanding timelines, milestones, budgets, resources, and personnel requirements, and being able to track progress throughout each stage of a campaign or partnership agreement. They should also have experience using project management software such as Trello or Asana to keep everything organized and on track at all times.
- Analytical skills: Partner marketing managers need strong analytical skills to accurately measure each campaign or partnership agreement’s success and adjust strategies accordingly if required. This includes having an understanding of metrics such as click-through rates (CTRs), cost per acquisition (CPAs), return on investment (ROI), etc., as well as being able to interpret data quickly so that decisions can be made promptly if necessary.
- Adaptability: Partner marketing managers must possess excellent adaptability skills so that they can pivot when circumstances change unexpectedly quickly. This includes understanding different cultures, markets, technologies, and how to quickly adjust a strategy. Additionally, they should have experience working with remote teams to manage multiple projects simultaneously without any disruption.
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