Introducing Cristy Garcia, the CMO of impact.com and a Chief and Forbes Communication Council member. With almost 20 years of experience in B2B tech marketing, she leads a team of 60 marketers at Impact.com and is a strong advocate for the power of partnerships and influencer marketing.In this episode, Cristy talks about the rising importance of influencer and partner marketing. She discusses how mature partnership programs drive up to 28% of revenue (23% on average), as found in a joint study between Impact.com and Forrester. This is the main reason why this channel is becoming increasingly critical for B2B marketers and one that you only pay for when revenue is realized. Cristy shares examples of successful B2B influencer and partner marketing campaigns, including HubSpot and Zenefits. She emphasizes the importance of content in educating and engaging B2B buyers and reaching them at all stages of the buyer's journey."Partnerships can be both focused on brand and demand. But what's great about partnerships and influencer marketing is that you're only paying for the desired revenue outcome." - Cristy GarciaCristy provides a different perspective on assessing acquisition costs as categorized primarily into brand and demand, with partnerships and influencer marketing falling into both categories. What separates partnerships and influencer marketing is that payment is based solely on achieving the desired outcomes. This contrasts with the uncertainty of allocating a large budget to ads without guaranteed performance. Instead, funds can be channeled towards commissions for partners who generate sales or website traffic, facilitate lead generation, or provide exposure through panels and conferences. These partnership models are gaining in popularity due to their direct ROI.Topics Covered:Referral-based vs. transactional partnershipsHow HubSpot got a 50% lift from partnershipsBefriend your CFO with low-risk revenue generationGrowing lead volume through partnershipsThe role of partnerships through the entire sales funnelContent to educate the 97% TAM not currently in-marketWhy you need more B2C in your B2BWhy you must have a third channel: traditional sales and marketing alone is not enoughFollow Cristy Garcia on LinkedInFollow host Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

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