Past
Marketers listed the company in a marketplace once and counted the logos.
ACADEMY · DRONICS · MAKE THE MARKET AND YOUR PARTNERS SELL YOU
Learn DRONICS-N: Networks and alliances
Be easy to find and easy to recommend inside the ecosystems your buyers already use.
Motion: Networks and alliances (co-sell, marketplaces, ecosystems and OEM-style alliances) · Owner: your CMO and channel head
Four steps: read the letter, read the lenses, take the self-assessment, then pick one or two gaps. All learning paths.
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Get the positioning right first, so a listing says in one line what we do and for whom.
Test one ecosystem small before asking for budget; then invest where it compounds.
Statements are from this letter's self-assessment. Nothing is pre-filled and nothing is stored.
PAST AND FUTURE
DRONICS-N: the story in two lines
Marketers will work differently with agents. This is what changes for this letter, and what stays with a person.
Present to future
Ecosystems are where buyers ask their peers and where assistants look. The job becomes to be easy to find and easy to recommend there, with listings that are current and accurate.
What the agent does
Maps the ecosystems and listings buyers use, checks that each describes the company correctly, and drafts co-marketing briefs marked draft.
What the marketer or CMO decides
Which alliances to join, the commercial terms, and the people who run each relationship.
Shifts used here: S2 From talking about ourselves to amplifying neutral voices; S8 From one-way outbound to community and partner-led. Read the full framework and sources.
1. What the agent does
Agents check, draft, map and record. A person approves anything that leaves the company.
- Build or refresh the ecosystem map: alliances, marketplaces, networks, integration partners.
- Check each programme's terms and flag the few worth the effort.
- Draft listings and joint value statements with the shared customer's alternatives stated, using only verified proof.
- Package a brief for the strategist: which alliance, what to offer, what it costs.
- After human action, record what came back, including influence that software attribution misses, and update the maturity position.
Where a person approves
- The strategist decides, negotiates and owns every alliance; agents never contact partners without approval.
- Approval of every listing, joint statement and claim before it leaves.
- Marketplace, listing and event bookings are decided by the strategist, who picks the few worth the money.
- Named companies are examples of a type only; never imply a relationship with them.
Maturity scale (DRONICS): Unaware, Reactive, Targeted, Orchestrated, Demand engine. Full letter page
2. The leader lens
How other well-regarded B2B marketing leaders would approach this letter, each named with a source. These are their opinions, not evidence about any company, and none of them has a relationship with Foundronics.
How to apply
- L1 (Dunford): State the category and the shared customer's alternatives before writing any listing or co-sell copy, so the value is clear in that setting.
- L7 (Kramer and Estreich): Look for advantages already built into the relationship (shared users, integrations, ecosystem pull) and build on them; do not invent advantages.
- L11 (Walker): Pair alliance numbers with win-analysis calls and a "how did you hear about us?" field, since co-sell influence is often invisible to software attribution.
A person decides: the strategist approves which leader-lens suggestions are used; agents draft and check only.
Sources for this lens
- L1. Start positioning from the customer’s real alternatives: what they would do if you did not exist. Source
- L7. Find the advantages already built into your business or market, and feed them. Only the free introduction was read. Source
- L11. Add self-reported attribution (“how did you hear about us?”), win-analysis calls and market surveys to software attribution. Source
3. The CMO lens
What a good B2B CMO would do for this letter. The lens follows the public writing of Dave Gerhardt. It is our reading, not his endorsement of Foundronics.
What a great CMO would do
- Get the positioning right first, so a listing says in one line what we do and for whom.
- Test one ecosystem small before asking for budget; then invest where it compounds.
- Remember that ecosystem influence often shows up only when you ask customers how they found you.
A weekly rhythm
- Mon: review listing and programme status.
- Tue: draft one listing or co-sell brief (`draft`).
- Wed: list what partner teams asked.
- Thu: strategist meets the alliance contact.
- Fri: record what came back, and ask buyers how they found us.
An example
Hypothetical (a software vendor and a cloud marketplace, illustration only): the agent drafts a listing that answers one buyer question in its first line and links to a verified proof. The strategist decides whether to submit it.
What to avoid
- Do not list everywhere; choose the few ecosystems where buyers already are.
- Do not claim a certification or a co-sell status we do not have.
- Do not judge an alliance only by last-click numbers.
A person decides: Which alliances and ecosystems to join and what the company commits. Agents draft and check; the strategist decides.
Sources for this lens
- P1. Brand is reputation, and positioning comes first. Visuals and tone come after. Source
- P2. Do short-term and long-term work together. Test a channel small, prove it, then invest in channels that build up over time. Source
- P9. Channels that build up over time often do not show in attribution. Ask customers how they found you. Source
4. The partner marketing lens
What good partner marketing looks like for the partners this letter works with. It draws on public Partnership Leaders articles. Foundronics has no relationship with them.
What to do
- Start from a joint value proposition: one buyer problem and why the combination helps (PM3).
- Check that both sides get value before asking for anything; co-marketing, integrations and directory listings only count if the partner gains too (PM4).
- Treat an enterprise listing as credibility for sales as much as a source of leads (PM9).
A weekly rhythm
- Mon: review which alliances are active and what was used.
- Tue: draft a joint value proposition and a short brief with named owners.
- Wed: list partner questions heard.
- Thu: strategist reviews the brief with the alliance contact.
- Fri: record meetings and pipeline that came back.
An example
Hypothetical (a software vendor and an integration partner, illustration only): the agent drafts a one-page joint value statement for shared customers: the problem, what each side does, what is promoted and when, and the two numbers to review in 30 days. The strategist decides whether to send it.
What to avoid
- Do not promise reach or leads nobody controls.
- Do not run campaigns where only one side gains.
- Do not imply the partner has agreed.
A person decides: Which alliance gets joint marketing effort and what the company funds. Agents draft and check; the strategist decides.
Sources for this lens
- PM4. Both sides must get value: co-marketing, integrations, joint products, partner directories. Source (from a third party’s summary; check before quoting)
- PM3. Start from a joint value proposition. The template contents were not read; only the summary. Source
- PM9. Enterprise listings may help sales through credibility more than through direct leads. Source (from a third party’s summary; check before quoting)
5. Check yourself
A free self-assessment for DRONICS-N. It takes a few minutes and needs no sign-in.
Take the DRONICS-N self-assessment
The examples on this page are hypothetical illustrations. A named company is an example of a type, never a customer or partner of Foundronics.
Next: DRONICS-I Influence · All learning paths · Foundronics Certified (roadmap)
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