In a previous post, we have talked about
what your PRM can do. A brief recap: With the right PRM Platform in place, you can create bespoke user journeys for each of your partners based on partner type, role, geographic location, stage of the partner journey, and certification level. In other words, you can use leading PRM tools in much the same way as you use marketing automation tools to create customer journeys. Despite this, many channels don’t use their PRM solutions in the most effective manner. If your goal is helping your channel reach its full potential, here are some best practices to keep in mind when it comes to using your PRM Platform.
Best Practices for Using Your PRM Platform
As you begin upskilling on your PRM solution, here are three best practices to keep in mind to increase the chances you will achieve desired outcomes.
1. Think about the partner experience.
When it comes to devising the channel strategy and what the partner’s role looks like, many vendors think about it through the lens of their own experiences. If you want the best results, you need to use empathy as a guiding principle as you plan out your strategy. Put yourself in your partners’ shoes and do your best to see things from where they stand. For example, if a new rep is coming into your program, what does this individual need to succeed? You don’t want a new partner to have to dig through your portal to find the needle in the proverbial haystack. You need to keep calls to action simple and basic, making it as easy as possible for them to know what to do. Think about it: They might be selling 20 different vendors’ products. So don’t treat them like they have all the time in the world to work for you. Your goal should be to make it as easy as possible to do business with you. Once the partner begins understanding how to work with you as a vendor on a deeper level, you can introduce additional complexities to the program as you see fit.
2. Create content for different personas.
A value-added reseller isn’t a systems integrator. That being the case, best practices call on you to create content for different customer personas. Although every reseller you work with won’t be exactly the same, they will certainly have similar pain points and require similar resources to help sell your products. By creating content for different personas and sending it their way, you can build bespoke journeys for each role, engaging clients and giving them the information they need to succeed in your program.
3. Use automation to expedite the process.
As you begin scaling your channel, the last thing you want is to have to copy data from one platform to another or manually reach out to partners to ask them about the
status of a deal. You can avoid this fate by investing in powerful PRM Platform that bring automation to your operation. With automation, you can avoid human errors—such as forgetting to send an email—and rest comfortably knowing that the technology will facilitate the conversation on your behalf. Automating processes is an easy way to make sure things get done while you focus on other ways to grow your business. At the same time, your portal should never be a silo. You need to think holistically about the entire tech stack and make sure everything is set up to support a cohesive and intuitive partner journey. When it comes to your communications, strive to ensure that all the noises you’re sending partners add up to a sweet symphony.
Ready to Level Up Your PRM Game?
Investing in a PRM solution is one thing. It’s a good start, to be sure. But simply choosing a PRM Platform isn’t going to solve all of your problems. To get the results you’re gunning for, you need to use your PRM Platform the right way. And that starts with building a strategy based on empathy. Put yourself in your partners’ shoes, and build an onboarding program backward from there that makes it easy for them to get up to speed fast. After that, you need to create content that connects with each persona in your channel. By using a healthy dose of automation across your entire channel, you can get more done while reducing errors and increasing productivity. Does this all sound like a tall order? With Vartopia, it isn’t.
Request a demo today to learn more about how Vartopia's PRM platform can help you build the best channel program.
