The success of a partner program is typically determined by a balanced combination of quantity (the number of partners involved) and relevance (the value offered to partners for promoting your brand).
Typically, when companies have the right messaging and relevant rewards for channel partners, value-added resellers, and agencies that are adding to the top of the funnel, passing along leads, and even helping to close deals – it’s a ripple effect.
Although these elements may require a significant amount of time and resources, they are crucial for achieving long-term success. To ensure a consistent experience for your end consumer, a well-defined plan is essential in partner marketing.
As marketers increasingly embrace personalized approaches such as email workflows for nurturing and targeted campaigns, partners are no longer relying on conventional engagement methods. They now anticipate cultivating enduring relationships with organizations.
1. Do your research on partner prospects
Prior to reaching out to potential partners, ensure that you conduct thorough research on them. It is crucial not only to approach prospects with a high likelihood of becoming successful brand partners but also to demonstrate politeness. Generic messages that have clearly been duplicated and sent to numerous prospects are the last thing potential partners wish to receive.
Before reaching out to any potential clients, it is crucial to ensure their relevance and their target audience aligns with yours. It is advisable to research their past partnerships to gain insight into the collaborations they have previously formed. Additionally, it is important to confirm that their reputation remains intact, as partnering with a negatively perceived brand could adversely affect your own brand image. For further guidance on finding the perfect match, consult our strategic partnership guide.
But it doesn’t end there. After you have made the decision to approach a prospective client, it is crucial to become well acquainted with their brand and identify the most appropriate individual within the company to reach out to. This will enable you to establish a more personal connection during your initial contact.
Fortunately, Breezy simplifies all of this tremendously. With our data snapshot tool, you can access a wealth of pertinent information on each prospect directly within the Breezy software, eliminating the need to navigate elsewhere. This allows you to designate prospects for communication conveniently. Moreover, we can also locate contact details for your preferred Leads, saving you time to dedicate towards ensuring your partnerships thrive.
2. Develop a partnership agreement
It is advisable to create a partnership agreement or contract prior to undertaking any collaborative endeavors. This step serves as a crucial measure to safeguard oneself in the event of non-compliance by the partner. Additionally, it significantly aids in aligning expectations and ensuring mutual understanding before entering into the partnership.
The contents of a partnership agreement may vary depending on the brands and collaborations involved, but it is beneficial to include details about the contributions that each partner will make. This could involve both parties investing a monetary amount, or one partner contributing more resources while the other focuses on providing time and labor. By clearly documenting each partner’s contributions in the agreement, you increase the likelihood of forming a successful strategic partnership.
Including information about the duration of your partnership is also important. In The Art of Strategic Partnering, Mark Sochan suggests initially setting a duration of three to five years, with the exception of seasonal partnerships where a shorter timeframe may be necessary. While it may be tempting to set a shorter timeframe to evaluate the situation, it is crucial to allocate a sufficient amount of time to achieve objectives. Frequently, a year is insufficient for accomplishing substantial tasks.
With all that being said, it could be worth considering the inclusion of a break clause in your partnership agreement, granting either party the option to terminate the partnership under specific circumstances. Additionally, we highly recommend including provisions in your agreement that outline the possibility of extending the partnership if it proves successful. It is essential not to prematurely end a prosperous partnership solely based on contractual obligations.
Lastly, it is important to include details regarding the ownership of intellectual property, particularly in the case of a product partnership. Mark Sochan recommends establishing a clear, written agreement where each company retains ownership of its own IP. In the event of a jointly developed product as part of the partnership, both partners should have joint ownership of the intellectual property. This arrangement enables both parties to share crucial information and data without concerns of disclosing their proprietary knowledge to one another.
3. Make key decisions together
Since partnerships revolve around collaboration, it is fitting to adopt a partner marketing best practice of collectively making important decisions as a team.
To start off, it is recommended to create a partner marketing plan right at the beginning of your partnership. This plan will detail all the ideas, goals, strategies, and tasks that have been discussed between you and your partner in relation to your partnership.
Implementing a partner marketing plan offers a convenient method to consolidate and reference all agreed-upon aspects with your partner. Even more beneficial is that crafting the plan provides a platform for both parties to openly express their aspirations and objectives for the partnership, ensuring mutual understanding.
Referring back to your partner marketing plan, which typically outlines your joint value proposition, target market for the partnership, and division of responsibilities, can help facilitate easier dispute resolution in case disagreements arise in the future.
Creating a comprehensive partnership calendar alongside your partner marketing plan is beneficial. This calendar can provide a clear timeline for important partnership activities, such as meetings, launch dates, press releases, and social media posts. It also specifies which partner is accountable for each task. In essence, mapping out and documenting the various aspects of your collaboration from the outset facilitates a smoother and more successful alliance.
4. Send Dedicated Emails
To foster participation, offer automated email notifications containing valuable information (refer to above: top of funnel, bottom of funnel, etc.). These emails can provide recommendations for achieving success or spotlight high achievers.
5. Enable Engagement
Establish a platform for your partners to exchange information and insights. An exclusive Facebook group or a Salesforce community serves as an ideal space for partners to share knowledge and engage with your brand. As your partner network expands, contemplate organizing physical gatherings or providing certification opportunities, like HubSpot’s Agency Partner Certification.
Partner Campaign
Running a partner campaign successfully requires 3 essential elements.
1. Expand Partnerships
Just like running a referral program, partner marketing also relies on numbers to some extent. Instead of restricting your program to a narrow niche audience, you are likely to achieve superior outcomes by broadening your outreach efforts.
Activity increases and the upper end of the funnel starts to widen when companies embrace various types of partners and allow them to participate in their programs.
HubSpot categorizes its partners into three distinct groups: sales partners, agency partners, and connect partners. The various partnership types have their own specific approach to acquiring new customers, defining their roles, operating procedures, and the value they bring to HubSpot. Additionally, each segment receives incentives tailored to their primary objectives.
HubSpot is able to personalize campaigns, messaging, and incentives for different types of partners by developing personalized partner programs. They can also utilize various categories to meet different business objectives.
2. Understand What Partners Value
It is crucial for companies to comprehend the value that their partners hold because by utilizing partner marketing, organizations can invest in a great opportunity to gain advantages from a dynamic, enthusiastic, and frequently localized network that comprehends the precise requirements of their target audience.
How can companies ensure that they are using the appropriate incentives for their partners at the correct time, acknowledging the effort partners exert in promoting their product or service? Most marketers recognize the importance of offering rewards in exchange for leads within a business partner program.
Although financial rewards such as revenue share, flat-rate incentives, and discounts are undoubtedly significant, it is equally important to collaborate with partners who appreciate their business and prioritize finding solutions that align perfectly with their clients’ needs.
3. Reward Partners At The Right Time
Developing an incentive structure doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all approach, but it is crucial to create a program that aligns well with your company and partners. The initial step in creating an efficient program that will generate the highest number of leads for your business is choosing the appropriate form and flow of rewards. The incentive structures that yield the best results are those that are simple to understand, execute, and provide compensation.
If your business partner program lacks a payment automation solution despite generating a sufficient number of leads every month, it will put a strain on your marketing or finance team. You certainly do not want to spend excessive time managing partner reward payouts rather than focusing on nurturing and expanding your partnerships and acquiring new business opportunities.
Having the appropriate tools, capabilities, and systems in place is crucial in order to achieve high efficiency at scale when it comes to partner marketing. This is particularly important as it enables you to amplify results without the need for a significant increase in internal resources.
