Since data now drives most of the marketing operations, why should your channel partner programs stay behind? Developing a partner program strategy is an essential part of any business’s success. It is safe to say that having some right channel partners expedites the process of reaching revenue goals.

In the past, channel partners have had to manage their operations based on little to no data and follow their gut feeling to make decisions.

Needless to say, that they are a strong arm of the marketing team and play a vital role when it comes to generating partner revenue.

Why Does the Performance of Channel Partners Matter?

Channel partners play more than one role in their relationship with a company. They are responsible for the following:

• Increasing revenue
• Improving engagement 
• Adding to profitability
• Delivering positive ROI
• Up-Selling and cross-selling
• Increasing the portfolio depth
• Nurturing leads
• Finding new partners

So, when someone has to manage several parts of the big machine, they must receive every bit of assistance possible. Whether it is support from the companies or implementing an AI-driven engagement solution, every bit counts.

Every channel partner program that focuses on delivering optimum performance works with data-driven solutions and positively adds to the bottom line.

Benefits of Good Channel Partner Performance

When you get a partner program strategy right, you foster efficient interaction between your partners and the company.

This relationship then gives rise to a new form of synergy that has a direct impact on both parties involves and delivers the following benefits:

• Higher productivity for campaigns
• Better lead generation and nurturing across all stages of the sales funnel
• Motivated staff members
• Better engagement between employees and customers
• Higher profitability
• Increased market penetration
• Consistent results
• Better projections for future campaigns
• Promotes the free flow of information across different teams
• Fosters a feeling of trust among staff members
• Makes teams accountable and responsible for major decisions

Strategies to Improve Performance Of Channel Partners

Working with channel partners is an altogether different experience. It doesn’t restrict itself to your products or services but transcends into your company’s culture.

When something becomes so important, it is time to put your heart and soul into making it succeed. Here are a few pointers that will help you develop an effective strategy to improve the performance of your channel partners:

Invest more time into the relationship:

Sales reps understand the value their partners can add, and thus, it is a good idea that they spend some time understanding their fellow partners’ perspective.

Sharing is caring, and when knowledge flows from one team to another, it only improves things in the long run. Manage your sales channels effectively by engaging both the teams regularly.

You can also enlist the help of an automated AI-based engagement tool to move things in a positive direction.

Promote more together:

Even if you create less content, never hold back on promoting it across every channel possible. Always hold your channel partner’s hand through any promotional activity and represent them as one of your own.

If you go along for moral support or as a service provider, play an active role in generating more leads.

Your interest in the whole thing will entice your partner’s interest, and both of you will develop an intimate relationship with the brand.

Work on social media presence:

By staying active on social media, you increase your chances of getting valuable feedback and user-generated content.

Listening to customers pays off well. Also, it helps you identify the right target markets for your products.

When your partners ask questions on social media, do your bit and engage with prospects regularly.

Become a co-investor with channel partners:

Consider investing in activities that can benefit both your company and the channel partner. For example, if your channel partner needs more sales reps to hit significant targets but doesn’t have the money, co-sponsor the recruitment task and get better returns.

Incentivizing team members can be another form of co-investment that can strengthen the working relationship between you and your channel partners.

Bring It Full Circle with A Partner Program

Managing channels partners and continually upgrading your partner program strategy can be a daunting task. But just as you are always there to hold your partners’ hand, NextBee’s Partner Enablement Solution is there to handle all your engagement needs.

It is an all-round solution that seamlessly integrates with your technology stack and functions as an intuitive program that gives you a complete outlook of your brand’s performance data.

With its AI-powered and robust programming, you can engage your partners to generate more revenue, increase partner involvement through gamification, and get in-depth data at your disposal to eliminate any guesswork in your strategy.

In a nutshell, by integrating NextBee’s partner enablement program into your technology stack, you can:

• Expedite the partner onboarding process
• Create multi-tiered commission programs
• Get better insights about the performance of each channel partner
• Roll out more effective promotions
• Nurture more leads

Wrapping Up

A working culture that champions collaboration is a sign of improved partner engagement in the future. This association only gets stronger when you deploy the right technological tools into the mix.

Are you ready to improve your partner programs and create strategies that can optimize your channel partners’ performance? Get in touch with our team today to get a free consultation.