How do you find the right sales marketing software platform for you and your partners? These decisions matter. When selecting a partner marketing software platform, there are four factors that you should bear in mind:
Industry Experience
Does your potential partner marketing platform serve other clients in your industry? You want depth of industry knowledge and experience. So look at both how many years they have been working in your sector and ask for references
Platform Innovation
Is the platform innovative? Partner marketing is not a static concept–it is constantly evolving and adapting to new market demands. If you want your business channel network not to be left behind, you will need a vendor able to keep up with that. Can they scale with you and keep up with your growth? Keep in mind that when you start out, your goal is to grow. Will your partner marketing software vendor be able to scale as you do/ or are they small mom-and-pop outfits that have neither the interest nor the ability to grow rapidly without hiccups? Similarly, do they cover ALL your needs? Or do you have to approach different vendors for different needs? That will become unwieldy for you as you grow. Also, discuss their development plans–what new features are they planning for the future?
Pricing
How are they priced? (Active pricing models are the best, where you are charged only for the number of partners actively using the partner portal.)
Service and Support Model
How are their service and support? Do they have the administrative infrastructure to handle follow-ups and customer support? Don’t forget to check into their ability to work with your platforms and their capacity to meet data regulations laws. Their commitment and ability to maintain data confidentiality and ensure compliance with data privacy laws are critical for your legal protection and corporate branding.
Forcing partners to use a platform that is clunky and unintuitive, or worse, forcing them to work across multiple products and platforms, will discourage your partners and drive them into the arms of more helpful vendors.
