Channel partners often cite the user experience as one of the most critical aspects of their relationships with vendors. Complex programs, cumbersome processes, and poorly designed partner portals will leave channel partners frustrated and unable to contribute to your mutual success. By ensuring that your programs are intuitive, your processes are streamlined and that everything flows through a user-friendly portal, you will enable your partners to contribute more to your top-line and bottom-line profitability. The more time it takes them to transact business with you, the less likely they may be to expend precious resources and energy to focus on their relationship with your business rather than on other vendors.
The Partner Experience (PX)
Making it easier for partners to do business with their top-line vendors is all about the Partner Experience (PX).
Vendors no longer have an excuse to not get it right. New channel management-related technologies and platforms are now available, from partner portals with consumer-like interfaces to easy-to-use partner marketing platforms. These technologies can significantly enhance the channel partner experience. Along with offering a best-in-class partner portal, vendors need to implement a well-managed communication plan. Vendors that invest the time and resources needed to facilitate the partner experience will gain a critical advantage over competitors, as partners shift their efforts to vendors and programs that are easier to participate in. Vendors must develop a comprehensive strategy for creating a holistic partner experience and define the requirements for each component. This eBook provides a breakdown of the key components of the partner experience and provides best practice recommendations for:
- Creating new and innovative approaches to channel partner portals
- Simplifying and streamlining partner programs
- Increasing program participation and utilization with partner marketing platforms
- Leveraging your channel operations team to evaluate and develop efficient workflows that will automate daily transactions with channel partners