Marketing Development Funds (MDF) are funds that are provided by Vendors and Distributors to partners to use for sales and marketing initiatives. Unlike co-op dollars, these funds are geared more for short term marketing activities and are given to partners within a program or as a one time offering. There are many different ways an organization can leverage MDF but which ones have the best ROI and are the most common? In this blog post we are sharing the most common marketing activities for MDF opportunities and which ones typically have the highest ROI.

Before You Take Advantage of MDF

Before we share some of the most common marketing activities for MDF, there are couple of details to figure out before getting started. First, make sure you understand the fine print and key deadlines. Some MDF has stipulations as to what you can or can’t do with the funding so you will want to be sure you ask any questions up front before executing to ensure your activity will qualify. Understanding important deadlines is also something to take note of so you can ensure your activity falls within the appropriate timeframe and you know when you will need to submit appropriate paperwork.

Another key thing to think about is if your team has the bandwidth to execute the activity or if you will need to outsource execution of the marketing activity. Our award winning Agency works with partners of all shapes and sizes to help execute marketing activities.

Most importantly before you get started with executing an MDF activity, you’ll want to ensure the activity fits into your marketing plan and overall business initiatives. As an example if you were to do a lead generation campaign, do you have the content to support those efforts or would you need to create that content? Understanding these key elements before deciding which marketing activities you would like to conduct with your MDF will help you activity go smoother.

Lead Generation

Lead generation is probably the most popular activity we see when it comes to MDF activities. Lead generation activities include telemarketing, digital advertising, and email campaigns just to name a few. While telemarketing and digital campaigns are the most popular kinds of lead generation tactics we see, more targeted approaches like LinkedIn advertising and SEO advertising typically have a higher ROI.

LinkedIn Advertising

Advertising on LinkedIn is a great option when it comes to MDF activities. There are many different kinds of LinkedIn ads and which one makes the most sense will depend on your objective. Campaigns fall into one of three different categories, which align with the buyers journey: awareness, consideration, and conversions. Conversion campaigns and some consideration campaigns are the kinds of campaigns that will most likely turn into leads.   Here are some best practices when it comes to LinkedIn advertising:

• Use the LinkedIn Insight Tag. This tag is a piece of code that you paste into the back end of your website so you can retarget website visitors.
• Have a targeted approach. This applies with both the audience you are targeting and the content you are sponsoring. Having a targeted approach increases the likelihood of users clicking on your content because it resonates with them.
• Visual identity matters. Ensure whatever content you are sharing is eye catching and encompasses your brands identity. This will help you build brand awareness.

Google Advertising

Another great lead generation activity when it comes to MDF is search engine advertising. While there are a variety of search engines, Google is the most common followed by Bing! and Yahoo. Using the correct keywords and having a more targeted approach will increase the chances of your campaign being a success. Keep in mind when it comes to Google Ads there are two different kinds of ads to focus on:

• Google Search Ads: These ads are displayed as search engine results above and below organic search engine results, a form of pull advertising. These ads can be expensive depending on which keywords you would like to show up for so be sure to use the Google Keyword Planner to gain a better idea on which keywords people are searching for and the expected bid rate for these keywords.
• Google Display Ads: These ads are displayed on partner sites to users who have showed an interest in your solution or service while they are browsing the internet, a form of push advertising. These ads have to be incredibly eye catching since they appear when users are not actively looking for a solution or an answer.

Before starting any search engine campaign, it’s recommend you conduct an SEO analysis on your website to understand which keywords your website ranks high for and ensuring your keywords align with your marketing and business goals.

Content Development

If you don’t have a dedicated marketing team in place, it could be difficult to create long form content or customer focused content. By using MDF to create content, you can have an external agency create content and leverage it across a variety of touchpoints and repurpose it into a variety of formats. If you choose this marketing activity, you’ll want to be sure you have the key points and background information before you start engaging with an agency.

Top of Funnel

Top of funnel content is great if your goal is to attract buyers that are at the awareness stage of their buying journey. Common types of top of funnel content include: blog posts, infographics, social media content, one pagers, and brochures.

Middle of Funnel

If you are looking to attract buyers who are further along in the decision-making process and would like to capture their contact information, middle funnel content would be your best option. Middle funnel content is more educational and is typically gated on websites. Some common types of middle funnel content include: ebooks, pre-recorded webinars, white papers, reports and case studies. This kind of content will require you to do more research and collection before working with an agency.

Customer Success Stories

Another great kind of content that is perfect as an MDF activity are customer success stories. Many partners don’t have the resources or time to write case studies because they require research, interviews, and writing the case study itself. As long as you have a customer success story you would like to highlight, this could be a great option to showcase your customer successes to potential customers.

Events

Events are another popular activity when it comes to leveraging MDF. Some MDF programs have stipulations as to what kind of activities qualify but we typically see small group in person events, webinars, and tradeshow/conference sponsorships.

In Person Events

With in person events, smaller events that are geared towards prospects/customers that share a commonality (attendees might fall within the same vertical) are a great way to have a targeted approach and allow you to build relationships. Some common small event formats are lunch and learns and after work happy hours. During these events, you can get to know attendees on a more personal level and they can interact with other professionals in the area.

Webinars

Even though we have seen a decrease in webinar attendance through Covid (thanks Zoom fatigue), they can still be successful if you have a targeted approach. Webinars that are geared towards a very targeted audience (think vertical focused) typically have a higher attendance rate because the content is geared specifically towards them and their needs. MDF can typically be used on recruitment efforts, giveaways, or speaker costs.

Trade Shows and Conference

Trade shows and conferences can be tricky because the majority of MDF programs wont approve booth attendance alone as a qualified activity. But if there is a sponsorship opportunity that includes some sort of speaking engagement, the chances if it being approved are much higher, as long as you can prove the speaking opportunity had an emphasis on the vendor or key solution.