In the last couple of weeks, I’ve had conversations with a number of different vendors around MDF for our One Little Seed clients. And a post from Glenn Robertson of Pure Channels prompted me to put my thoughts down on virtual paper. Having been on both sides of the MDF tide lines, managing and dishing out allocations in vendor land, requesting, executing, and claiming on the partner side, I understand the challenges on all lines. However, after nearly (god forbid) 30 years of having the same arguments, how do we collectively come together to make this programme work for everyone? 

The vendor conversations I’ve had recently include:

Marketing is about experimentation. Some things we just aren’t going to get right, but more often than not, the bold choices do come off. So, you need to take the good with the bad.

Events are only part of the cycle, and you need to build brand, trust and demand to be able to get those bums on seats.

We all love a bluebird, but we all know that in complex B2B purchasing when a buyer reaches out to you, they’re already 70% through their buying process. All the work you’ve done prior is what’s important. The lifecycle of that buying cycle can be anywhere from 6-24 months!

So where does this leave us?

In my humble opinion, everyone wants more revenue. Everyone wants growth. So, why are we not measuring the overall growth of the share of revenue between the partner and the vendor? If the partner is growing their business, then why are we behest to quarterly pipeline measurements and client/touch trackers? (Especially when all the data shows that you can’t TRULY influence pipeline generation within a quarter.)

Yes, there still absolutely need to be checks and balances to ensure that the partner isn’t just putting the MDF to their bottom line and execution is happening. But how about MDF becoming about a real partnership, looking at longer-term achievement and revenue attribution as a measurement of success? With so much marketing fatigue out there, it’s not as easy as it was ten years ago when I used to be able to successfully run a demand generation programme that relied on form completions, moved through to webinar and email nurture to get an easily trackable pipeline. But even then, we were looking at 6-9 months (or longer) of attribution tracking.

On the flip side, I’ve also had some great conversations with vendor marketing managers who understand what we’re trying to achieve, and we’re able to work towards these longer-term goals, but there’s always the pushback from sales leadership.

Which leads me from MDF to new sales – and how you attribute them fairly (if at all).

For a long time, I’ve espoused the rule of thirds when it came to new business. A third from marketing, a third from sales development, and in partner land, a third from vendor partnerships.

Isn’t it time that we all aligned with the greater business objectives, and looked at business and net new growth holistically? Yes, sure, that hunter rep has secured a new meeting, but that prospect will have done their research on the company, and that’s where marketing has contributed. However, that will always go to the sales rep as an attribution, regardless of the website, sales collateral or case study that they’ve sent alongside the meeting request.

Most smaller businesses can’t afford all the attribution tracking software that allows you to measure and track each engagement. These tools do exist, but they’re the luxury of global vendors in most cases.

One of the key conversations I have with all our clients is much like the old Pantene TV ad. “It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.”

Yes, new leads and net new business will start to hit the books, but that’s because we’re working closely with sales and not as an island. And we’re constantly asking, how do you use that collateral? What purpose does it serve, and where does it fit? Who can we use as a case study to fix a gap in our resources? But in the end, so long as new business is delivered, everyone is happy, regardless of what that final touch point was.

These discussions need to move outside of businesses that are owner-led sales and into larger organisations. The more successful a business is in totality, and the more that it’s recognised that marketing is actually part of every engagement in some way, then we’re on the right path.

There is still a long way to go.

Sounds harsh, I know. But if you plan to rely on the same old support services for your ongoing success, you may not have even realised that you’re potentially dead in the water.

How come?

This year promises to be a shake up for those MSPs who are not prepared to transform and reposition themselves as businesses with a fresh, new mindset. The challenge will be to not only reimagine your business and how you deliver your services, but ensure that the ‘new you’ runs deep – from managed offerings to brand.

The winds of change

While opportunities always abound for the innovative MSP, too many look tired regarding their brand and offerings. And if this includes you, it could cost the business dearly.

According to ARN: “Support services are dead, MSPs need to shift and embrace transformation.”

Ouch. However, it seems that it’s time to evolve past a reliance on maintenance and support - or die. James Davis, former director of Academy APAC at Pax8 and founder of The TSP Advisory (TSP), believes about 25% of MSPs are breaking even or losing money, because of “client churn due to stagnation.” He also says, “Newer businesses don’t seek MSPs because their needs don’t align with MSP value propositions. Economic cycles are swinging back to internal IT management with the remaining churn coming from clients maturing out of stagnant MSPs.”

ARN’s article also references Channel Dynamics, a specialist channel sales consulting firm, who suggests that “customer loyalty was diminishing, and it’s driven by the depersonalisation of customer service and the endless array of self-help tools and videos online.” This observation speaks to a weakening of relationships traditionally built on the strength and value of human interaction.

So, what’s behind these cautions?

According to Canalys, the potential for MSP growth abounds. In their recent article (Jan 2025): “MSP trends and predictions 2025 - executive summary,” they call out exciting growth opportunities in a range of areas including new cybersecurity technologies, compliance, vertical expertise, agentic AI, and even telco services.

But they also warn: “MSPs that do not offer these things may not be able to operate in the near future, or at least fewer of these will be able to,” and that “in order to stay ahead of  customer expectations, MSPs must continue to stay ahead of the technology curve.”

Today’s MSP empires are likely to stand - or fall - based not only on their ability to align with changing customer expectations and to stay evergreen in terms of services and expertise, but also on how they deliver them.

Time to evolve, and at what cost?

We know that finding the energy and time to build new services, markets, and channels can be daunting. And that none of that can happen at the expense of your existing client relationships.

Which means it’s essential to have a retention strategy before you do anything. So, as you evolve, your clients not only stay on board because they trust you and value the relationship, but are excited about the changes and what they mean to their businesses.

They will rely on you to communicate and ‘sell’ the innovations you are introducing, without isolating, alienating, or unsettling them. In short, you’ll need to bring them along on your journey, not have them worried that you’re leaving them behind and prompting them to look elsewhere.

Which brings me to the power of brand.

First, how is your brand holding up?

Let’s try this little litmus test.

  1. Does your messaging address the MSP pain points your buyers are talking about? YES/NO
  2. Does your messaging reflect your expertise and depth of understanding of what the market is forecasting as hot, must-have MSP trends? (Case in point here is AI – agentic and generative. A recent Canalys poll says that 61% of partners still struggle to get AI projects past the POC stage with their customers.) YES/NO

If you (honestly, heart on hand) answered YES to both questions, then great. It’s likely your brand messaging is keeping pace with your business and continuing to engage and ignite the interest of clients and prospects.

If not. Well, let’s just say ‘Can do (much) better.’.

Brand new?

Brand has and should always be aspirational. It’s the promise you make to your customers about how and what you’ll do to help them be successful and safe. It’s the shiver that runs up your prospect’s spine when they recognise an aligned soul they’re ready to trust and innovate with.

It’s not just your logo or tagline though. Or your corporate colours. Or tone of voice, depth and range of content, or choice of imagery. It’s the sum of all of the aforementioned, supported by an authentic personal experience that validates everything your branding claims.

When you consider that a prospect has over 5,200 MSPs to choose from in Australia (2026 est.), it’s important that your brand rings true. (*Depends on which report you read, and how they qualify what an MSP is, which can be quite broad.)

While the thought of putting your brand under the microscope may send shivers up your own spine for all the wrong reasons, it can often be managed through a process of steady, staged evolution. However, in cases where it’s been neglected to the point where your tagline or even company name have little to no relevance to what you do today, then revolution – and rising in triumph above the ashes of the past - may be the best approach.

If 2025 is the year when you take serious stock of where you are sitting on the technology curve, and how well that bodes for your growth and survival, then it’s also time to make sure that your brand mirrors who you intend to be.