Using Partner Relationship Management to Encourage Your Channel Partners

Think about it: Your partners are regular people. It goes without saying that they will likely perform better if they become more personally invested in what they’re doing. However, empowering your partners is easier said than done. There are certainly many ways that you can use partner relationship management (PRM) to encourage your channel partners to do their best work—but how do you make it happen when you’re working with so many different partners at the same time?By using a PRM system and following a few simple tips, you can strengthen your partner program, ultimately allowing you and your partners to collaborate more effectively and increase your overall sales.

1. Provide a variety of content.

When you’re populating your PRM system with content, remember to provide a variety of topics and formats. For example, you may want to include video, photos, and articles on a range of different applicable subjects. This approach will help keep your content looking fresh, effectively engage your partners, and help them succeed by allowing them to share the content that best suits their own personal style.

2. Make content easy to access.

It’s not enough to simply provide your partners with a wide variety of content—you also have to make it easy for them to access. To make navigating the channel as simple as possible for your partners, you should create an organized library of content for them to peruse and share as they see fit. When deciding what your naming convention should be, be as descriptive as possible to help your partners easily locate whatever type of content they’re looking for.

3. Allow content to be personalized.

Again, your partners are real people, so it’s not surprising that they respond better when content can be personalized to their liking. By providing different cobranding opportunities for your channel partners to take advantage of, you can help them send a more personalized message, which will ultimately resonate better with their prospects.

4. Be receptive to feedback.

There’s no doubt about it: People like to feel involved. When partners feel they have a say in the process, they are more engaged and more willing to advocate on behalf of your brand. This will help them feel more connected to your organization and the work that they’re doing. You can be sure that you are providing the best, most relevant content to your partners by allowing them to give you feedback on what works and what doesn’t.

Make it a point to check in with them when you can. Take the initiative to create surveys that can be widely accessed. You should also keep an eye on which content is most widely shared on your PRM system. Ask your partners what’s working well and what’s not working at all. By offering channel partners a place to share feedback on the content you post, you can help them feel more involved in the process and encourage them to do their best work possible.

By taking advantage of a PRM system to build out a more successful partner program, you can improve partner adoption and increase partner effectiveness. In sum, you can use partner relationship management to encourage your channel partners by providing varied content, making it easy to access, allowing it to be personalized, and being open to partner feedback. With these simple tips, you’ll be able to create an engaging channel that allows you to train, instruct, inspire, and communicate with your partners.

Are you curious about PRM tools and how they can help improve collaboration and communication between you and your channel partners? Check out our 2018 Partner Relationship Management Guide to learn more.