How to Streamline PRM Systems in the Modern World
There’s not an area of B2B that wasn’t touched by the Covid-19 pandemic, and channel partner relationships were no exception. As marketers adapted their strategies to keep up with the “new normal,” they realized an opening to improve the effectiveness of their partner relationship management (PRM) system.
With the need to evaluate and analyze partner effectiveness and streamline communication, many companies re-examined their channel programs to identify areas where their PRM was falling short and take steps to improve the system’s effectiveness. To gain more insights into enhancing channel programs through the help of PRM technology, Channel Marketer Report (CMR) sat down with Allbound’s VP of Marketing Tori Barlow to discuss the ins and outs of PRM.
Channel Marketer Report: What are some of the signs that a channel program could be run more effectively and profitably with a modern PRM system?
Tori Barlow: Many factors can cause an ineffective channel, but common culprits include a clunky partner experience, poor communication between partners and channel managers and limited access to updated and informative content. Three significant indicators will tell you if your channel needs further optimization: Low partner activation rates, minimal partner engagement and low partner retention.
CMR: Channel programs and the partner ecosystems that support them are evolving dramatically. What are some of the operational adjustments that channel teams are addressing better with modern PRM tools?
Barlow: Utilizing channel automation changes the way your partner program functions. With automation, channel managers can eliminate manual processes, which means your channel team gets to focus on strategy while partners are tactical. As an example, you can have 100 partners sign into the portal and have a unique experience. Partners can be segmented on partner type, tier, industry, location and more. That is the definition of personalization at scale. In addition, training, co-branding, deal registration, MDFs, etc. are now all automated. Not only do partners get to function independently, but you know that these functions are all completed swiftly and accurately.
CMR: At most companies today, C-suite authorization of a purchase of new technology is based on an understanding of the ROI. How do robust PRM systems not only pay for themselves, but actually deliver a C-suite satisfying ROI?
Barlow: The ROI of PRM is two-fold. The first is from the partners, but the second is the time your internal team saves after adopting automation. The elimination of manual processes means that our customers typically see a 61% shorter channel sales cycle while also scaling their partner program. A PRM helps engage partners so they’re generating more revenue through streamlined onboarding, clear incentives and ease of doing business. Here are a few examples of ROI customers have seen:
- Serko achieved 100% portal adoption
- Garland Technology saw a 33% increase in partner referral revenue
- CloudCheckr increased partner engagement by 1,400%
- CloudBees saw an increase of 256% in partner registrations.
CMR: Successful channel programs typically require support or participation by staff in a variety of a company’s departments. To ensure internal adoption of a PRM platform, which departments are likely to benefit from its implementation?
Barlow: Our data reveals marketing and sales teams directly benefit from implementing a PRM. With Allbound’s Channel Insights, marketing teams have a birds-eye view into the content with the most engagement, the content with the least engagement, which content leads to deal registrations and more. Additionally, the sales team can leverage insights from the partner portal to identify the content assets that drive the most deals. With easy access to content within the PRM, internal sales teams can use this content for training purposes or in their sales workflows as they work to close deals. This allows marketing and sales teams to work more effectively together, allowing for revenue growth.
CMR: What are some of the features/capabilities of a robust PRM platform that enable channel teams to attract and retain the attention of increasingly distracted partners?
Barlow: PRM platforms can increase partner engagement through a partner portal designed with partner experience (PX) in mind. Partner Journey Automation is how we enable partner engagement at scale. This feature allows you to create trigger-based alerts for actions taken — or not taken — within your portal. For instance, if a deal hasn’t moved in a set amount of time, a partner can be sent an email to remind them to update the status. This tool is a cheat code for partner engagement automation.
CMR: What are some of the future opportunities and challenges that you see companies addressing more effectively with PRM solutions?
Barlow: The hybrid workforce started as a challenge for the channel and has grown into a massive opportunity. As in-person interactions became scarce, the community learned how to utilize software to optimize channel relationships. We have seen an increase in channel revenue, which is linked to the evolution of channel automation. The main challenge that channel companies will have to face is whether they’ll continue to depend on the short-term goals that worked during the pandemic or shift to long-term strategies that rely on the world going back to a sense of normalcy.