Informa TechTarget and The Sherpa Group Join Forces to Launch ‘Partner Demand Assurance’

Informa TechTarget, an indispensable partner for B2B intelligence, media, and marketing solutions, announced the launch of Partner Demand Assurance (PDA): a partner engagement and enablement solution delivered in collaboration with UK-based partner marketing agency The Sherpa Group. This new joint solution is designed to help B2B technology companies both maximize and prove ROI from their partner program investments by addressing a critical gap in partner marketing: what happens to leads after they’re delivered to partners.

Partner Demand Assurance combines permissioned data from Informa TechTarget’s proprietary audience ecosystem and its proven demand generation capabilities with The Sherpa Group’s partner enablement expertise and EdisonAI platform, which fosters transparency into partner capabilities and lead handling. This is of critical importance to B2B enterprise tech companies, as 96% of all IT deals are now influenced by partners—as many as 6 or 7 different partners for major tech purchasing decisions—at 28 moments along the B2B customer journey (source: Omdia by TechTarget).

“Successful and accountable partner marketing is a necessity in the modern B2B customer journey,” said Jay McBain, Chief Analyst for Channels, Partnerships & Ecosystems at Omdia by Informa TechTarget. “By combining Informa TechTarget’s channel expertise, robust audience, and demand generation capabilities with Sherpa’s notable strengths in data-driven partner engagement, execution, and enablement, Partner Demand Assurance is uniquely positioned to help organizations protect, prove, and optimize their partner growth investments.”

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Partner Demand Assurance tackles common pain points for partner marketers, including unclear MDF (Market Development Fund) investment returns, limited insight into partner lead follow-up, and the ability to reach new markets and regions. It accomplishes this through a combination of three core services, with options for customization:

• Partner Capability Assurance: Validation of individual partner capabilities and market readiness;
• Partner Marketing Support: A dedicated resource to provide 1-on-1 guidance to partners, including campaign follow-up best practices;
• Partner Engagement Platform: Lead status tracking via Sherpa’s EdisonAI platform, giving partner marketers visibility into partner campaign performance and conversion.
• Additional custom services—including joint value proposition development, enablement asset creation, SDR services, and nurture cadences—are also available.

“As an indispensable strategic partner to our clients in B2B technology marketing and sales, it is imperative that we serve them with smart, end-to-end solutions that meet their partner marketing needs,” said Gary Nugent, CEO of Informa TechTarget. “We chose to work with The Sherpa Group on the new Partner Demand Assurance solution for their data-driven methodology, knowledgeable teams, and EdisonAI platform. Together, we can deliver full-funnel transparency, accountability, and improved outcomes for partner marketing programs.”

“Our partnership with Informa TechTarget creates something truly unique—a solution that generates high-quality leads through proprietary data and insight-driven campaigns, coupled with the assurance that partners have the right mix of capabilities, support, and accountability to successfully convert those leads. It’s this combination that makes all the difference for partner marketing success,” added Tom Perry, CEO of The Sherpa Group.

This strategic alliance enhances the value of Informa TechTarget’s existing portfolio of Partner and Channel Marketing services. Informa TechTarget helps the world’s top tech companies drive partner-influenced revenue by helping partner marketers to: 1) build scalable channel strategies that establish long-term partner growth; and 2) empower their partners with smarter campaigns, strategically tailored to build brand credibility and preference, earn buyer trust, and drive scalable pipeline.