In the early stages of any business, accelerating growth is an important process. Lately, B2B SaaS companies have discovered partnerships that are beneficial to this growth. And indeed, there is great potential for partnership programs to become the next best thing in future-proofing a company, especially for young businesses that are just starting now.
2021 comes with a new promise for SaaS companies: if partnerships are built the right way, they will take a business to the next level. This year, shared marketplaces will benefit the tech industry by enabling interconnection between organizations and streamlining business operations. All these benefits include better integration, services, and automation.
Research shows that shared marketplaces will grow soon mainly because of the dramatic increase in remote work. The good news is that collaboration and partnerships are helping businesses become highly adaptable to any circumstances and environments.
So, how can you build the best SaaS partner program? In this article, we take a look at 4 tips that will help you thrive in 2021.
What are SaaS partnership programs?
Put simply, SaaS partnership programs can be based on:
- Referral, when customers are given a reward for referring someone to your business
- Strategy or technology, when you share information and integrate technology
- Affiliation, when you partner with influencers
- Reselling, when an agency will resell your product
- Support, when a third party will recommend your product to their customers
Why are B2B SaaS partner programs so successful?
When it comes to B2B SaaS, referral programs have the potential to be disruptive. But as SaaS products require significant investment, if a company is a start-up, achieving this partnership can be challenging.
Entering into a partnership, a business can experience the benefits of free exchange of information, helping them improve their product and learn from feedback. Not to mention that it maximizes resources for greater ROI.
Creating separate selling channels to expand your business when partnering with other organizations, is also known as creating a channel partner program. As we mentioned earlier, these can have great benefits for any business. However, a strong partnership takes effort, research, and planning.
So, here are four tips to build the right SaaS partnership in 2021.
1. Ensure your business can stand on its own
Resisting the urge to look for a partner the minute you start your business is an important first rule. Why? Because companies that are already well established are also best suited to a channel partner program. So, it is essential to ensure that your company can stand on its own, as once in a partnership, your team will need to train the partner in the best techniques for selling your product to customers.
If you need to improve some processes or fill some gaps, it’s best to do so before entering a partnership. If you haven’t found your niche, take time to understand and revamp your marketing and sales strategy. You should deliver results before researching for a partner program. This will benefit your business in the long-term.
2. Research is quintessential
When your business is in order, you can start working on finding a partner. The right program needs an extended amount of research, but it’s not impossible to achieve. When looking for this partnership, your team needs to address the following: the kind of product or service that would best work alongside your business, the type of company that would benefit from your business’ strengths, and who would be able to help you solve the organization’s current challenges.
Once you find your answers and map your ideal partnership, you can start evaluating companies and see which ones can be a good fit for your business.
3. Establish your goals and objectives for the partnership
Once you find a partnership (or more), you need to create a definitive plan. You can designate a partnership manager who will facilitate the communication with the other partners and help address solutions, problems, and any frustrations.
You can also invest in a partner relationship platform. But the most important is to track the same key metrics in your partnership as in your direct business. Build a model that can be easily communicated to your partners to empower them and reward them as the business grows.
4. Compensate your partners for their involvement
Based on your company’s growth, build a clear financial model to compensate your partners. To achieve success in this process, it’s important to align your partnership with the growth goals of your marketing and sales.
Incentives are also appreciated, and they can be applied not only to your partners, but you can offer rewards for customer referrals to generate more demand and interest in your program as it continues to grow.
Conclusion
Nowadays, being agile requires a quick shift in strategies, which would be harder to achieve without the help of a partner. Companies need to think smart: combining assets and resources, whether in-house or outsourced, will lead to an increase in ROI and the overall success of your business.
