From CX to PX

As Partnerships and Ecosystems multiply, Partner Experience (PX) has become a critical factor for success in this new universe. A positive PX can lead to increased loyalty, higher sales, and stronger relationships between brands and their partners. On the other hand, a poor PX can lead to frustration, disengagement, and even a loss of partners. According to Accenture, “77% of partners say they have more choices of providers than they had three years ago, and 69% of partners agreed or strongly agreed that the power has shifted from vendors selecting partners, to partners selecting vendors”. Given the importance of partnerships, brands need to prioritize their PX initiatives as part of a robust and effective B2B partner program strategy, one in which everyone emerges better off for collaboration. See also our blog on 5 Keys to Winning B2B Loyalty Programs.

Ensure Top-Down Internal Alignment:

B2B Partner programs can offer a crucial structure for businesses to engage with partners on a large scale, particularly for organizations with numerous active partners -- truly successful programs depend on seamless data exchange between various departmental systems, such as marketing, sales, and customer service, which in turn requires comprehensive alignment from top to bottom for their effectiveness. Recently, Microsoft appointed an ecosystem leader to steer its B2B partner program, and companies like AWS, Google, and IBM have adopted similar strategies due to an understanding of the need for clear management of such initiatives.

Segment and Continually Profile Partners:

Create, segment, and continually update partner profiles and personas to grasp diverse partners' objectives and priorities, addressing key questions of how best to connect and communicate with these partners, how to evaluate their individual performances, and how to allocate resources they would need. Engage with partners through surveys or phone calls to understand their 'personality’ and keep a close eye on their satisfaction and engagement levels for continued success.

Partnership and ecosystem management technologies are seeing a boom in response to this growing need, and offer up expanded functionalities that include the following:

• The ability to share data between partners and collaborate.
• Remote access so users can access their deals through the cloud, from any device.
• Analytics and performance monitoring against transactional and non-transactional metrics.
• Learning management components for partners to pursue training and certifications.
• Integrated channel incentives platform for digitally-redeemable channel partner rewards

Support Scaling through Personalized Guidance:

According to Accenture, bigger brands support their partners’ channel marketing strategies through AI tools, resulting in improved channel growth of 2-8%. AI tools can also provide personalized guidance to partners on how to grow their business, from suggesting certifications or training, to alerting partners to channel incentives that they are eligible for within the B2B partner program. Vendor brands that offer such information and assets become especially valuable to their partners.

Share Marketing Assets and Automation Tools: 

Although partners gather a wealth of data, many struggle to utilize it effectively in their channel marketing strategy. Vendors can support their partners by providing access to marketing automation tools, which enable the creation of customized and personalized assets to target end customers. This includes co-branded video libraries that equip partners with easily adaptable and shareable video content.

Provide Ongoing Support To Eliminate Pain Points: 

Boosting partner growth calls for a long-term approach that not only identifies but also helps partners tackle their challenges, enabling them to skillfully market products and services to customers. This can be done by introducing dynamic programs that progressively advance partners' capabilities over time. From onboarding initiatives to product and sales training, the entire sales and marketing process should be supported within a thriving B2B partner program. Regularly keeping tabs on partner pipelines and reporting the results can also further incentivize and inspire growth through these channel partnerships.

Channel partner incentives are becoming increasingly old-hat within any B2B partner program aiming to nurture its partner network. As these networks gain complexity, B2B incentives will similarly need to evolve in their structure and management to keep their partners on board. According to a 2022 Incentive Research Foundation study, one-quarter of companies surveyed say they have ‘significantly increased’ incentive spending with at least half saying they have increased spending ‘significantly’ or ‘somewhat’. In order to foster partner loyalty through an effective B2B channel incentive program, consider the following six best practices:

Make Sure the Incentive Structure is Easy to Follow:

Any incentive structure that is overly complicated or unpredictable is unlikely to be successful. To ensure maximum ROI, it’s best to maintain a predictable structure where targets, key performance indicators (KPIs), and channel partner reward offerings are clear and transparent. With partners often having access to many kinds of ecosystems these days, programs that require them to spend too much time understanding the benefits or how to participate can result in disengagement and un-involvement.

Clearly Communicate Objectives, Benefits, and Progress:

The rules, terms, and conditions of the overall channel partner incentive structure should be readily available, ideally through a partner portal for easy click-and-viewing. From the outset, vendors should record their partners’ agreed-upon targets, and keep them current on their standing via interactive dashboards, and monthly statements.

Reward All Activities That Contribute to Growth:

Channel partner rewards should be earned against a mix of transacting and non-transacting behaviors, such as meeting or exceeding monthly sales goals as well as completing training modules or even posting on social media. With partners often serving as the first node of contact for buyers, it's more important than ever that they upskill their knowledge of vendor products – training-based rewards can be useful in this regard.

Make Room for Non-Transacting Partners:

Partners in large networks and ecosystems tend to be market enablers, not market makers. A growing priority in B2B partner programs, therefore, is the incentivization of such diverse, non-transacting, ‘influencers’, including those who refer qualified leads or deliver incremental services post-sales. In the 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report, over 73% of marketers reported an increased interest in influencer marketing over the past year, with 80% saying they expect interest will continue to grow in 2023. B2B incentives need to adapt to this emerging reality.

Having a robust mix of offerings will include:

• Discounts: At a business level, discounts are popular because they contribute directly to overall profitability –particularly during a period of economic uncertainty.
• Rebates: These promotions give partners a percentage of the sale as a reward and motivate partners to boost their sales volume. Rebates are typically volume-based, meaning that partners need to hit a certain sales threshold before receiving their incentive.

Sales Performance Incentive Funds (SPIFs):

These incentives go directly to the partners’ sales rep and can be a powerful tool to boost performance during slow times or off-seasons. Some popular SPIF rewards include gift cards, entertainment tickets, tech gadgets, a weekend getaway, or even lunch with executives!

Market Development Funds (MDFs)/Innovation Funds:

Through Market Development Funds (MDFs) and innovation funds, channel partners can access benefits -- financial or knowledge-based -- that help them expand their businesses. These may include enhanced partner support for addressing growth challenges, exclusive data insights for gaining a competitive edge, or technical assistance with solution development. Additionally, partners may receive support for launching various marketing initiatives such as hosting webinars, organizing marketing events, or joining trade shows. MDFs are highly effective for partner companies, as these kinds of B2B marketing investments generate a 'waterfall effect' on their own sales performance.

Co-Op Funds:

Accumulated over time, these funds are closely tied to sales, ensuring payouts occur only when a partner's customers make purchases from the brand, creating a lasting sales incentive for partners. Although conventional Co-Op funding is typically provided as account credits, Co-Op funds can also be incorporated into a B2B loyalty or rewards program.

Deal Registration/Referral Incentives:

These incentives reward partners for identifying and referring customers – if they eventually convert to sales. B2B referral programs are a great way to kindle partner loyalty and make them advocates for a brand.

Contest and Prize Programs: 

Contests, including Instant Wins or Sweepstakes, serve as powerful tools to launch new products, stimulate sales of select SKUs, and bolster partner engagement. These events encourage participation and can be strategically implemented as either standalone channel incentives or seamlessly integrated into larger contests, amplifying the excitement and fostering a connection with vendor brands.

Breed Healthy Competitiveness With Leadership Boards:

Tapping into the innate human desire for success and the instinct to avoid lagging behind, a leaderboard showcasing real-time data can work wonders in driving partner motivation. By displaying the achievements of others, dynamic scoreboards can ignite a spark within those lagging behind, inspiring them to step up their game and secure their spot among the top
performers.

Include Non-Cash Incentives And Rewards:

Non-cash incentives are increasingly popular in B2B incentive programs for their impact on recipients. Large companies (with revenues of at least $5M or more) have almost universally adopted non-cash incentives as part of their culture, according to 2022 data from the Incentive Research Foundation, to which they attribute a 32% increase in total revenue and a 30% increase in market share. Why? These incentives are particularly successful because they produce emotional reactions when awarded, that elevate their perceived value beyond their monetary value. People like to be recognized for their hard work, and non cash rewards tend to be highly visible as well as socially lauded. Non-cash rewards can include debit or gift cards, one-of-a-kind experiential rewards like travel packages and plane tickets, and even awards.

Create a Digital Channel Rewards Platform:

Considering the significant amount of time we spend on devices, whether at work or home, it’s more important than ever to make reward systems accessible online – and optimized for mobile. This can be achieved by collaborating with a corporate rewards provider or by creating an in-house platform. Regardless of the approach, partners will appreciate the convenience of monitoring their points, exploring channel reward ideas, and redeeming their choices in a streamlined manner.

As the B2B buyers' landscape continues to transform and diversify, partnerships are becoming increasingly essential. With digital channels supplanting traditional direct-sales methods, the significance of partners as influencers, agents, and advocates throughout the buyer's journey is undeniable. B2B partnerships not only expand market reach and enhance discoverability but also secure valuable data in a post-cookie era. Additionally, as economic challenges persist, a strong partner ecosystem can help businesses explore new growth and revenue opportunities beyond their historical boundaries, ultimately determining the market leaders in 2023 and beyond. In this partner-centric world, the Partner Experience (PX) has emerged as a vital component for fostering successful collaborations and nurturing growth within an ecosystem. By creating comprehensive B2B partner programs that align with partner goals and offer meaningful channel incentives and rewards, businesses can significantly improve the PX factor of their overall partner initiatives – and consistently generate a positive return on investment over time.

Download the B2B Channel Loyalty PDF Here

Snipp provides promotions and loyalty programs designed to engage customers across the entire path to purchase - in-store, at home and online. Clients can run one-off promotions to evergreen loyalty programs that meet objectives at a brand, shopper, category, and portfolio level and customizable by region, language, channel, retailer and more.

SnippCARE, our modular Customer Acquisition, Retention & Engagement platform, powered by our market-leading receipt processing platform for purchase and non-purchase validation, enables implementation of ROI-driven, omni-channel programs, globally. We capture zero-party data in real time and build proprietary data sets, driving engagement, personalization and brand loyalty and enabling intelligent decision-making. It’s tailor-made for brands to build deeper relationships with their customers.

For over a decade, we have worked with the world’s leading organizations in both B2C and B2B spaces, across industry verticals including CPG, retail, pharma, utility, home and outdoor, alcohol, tobacco, lifestyle and more.

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