Identifying Partner Potential for growth

In the dynamic world of partner marketing, identifying and unlocking partners' potential for growth is paramount. Leveraging data to enhance partner performance not only maximizes ROI but also ensures a superior experience for Vendords, Partners and customers, 1+1 =3. 

In this blog, we explore the importance of recognizing Partner growth potential, the challenges Vendors face, and how data can help overcome these obstacles.

Why Identifying Partners' Potential for Growth is Crucial

Nancy Ridge Founder and President at Ridge Innovative emphasizes, "It ensures precious resources are invested with the Partners who will provide an ROI. It delivers a better overall partner experience, customer experience, and even employee experience.” Identifying Partners poised for growth allows businesses to allocate resources efficiently, fostering stronger and more productive Partnerships.

How Data Helps Identify and Unlock Partner Potential

Our Partner Marketing Ecosystem Benchmark identified a significant 75% of Partners lack marketing automation, resulting in leads that are not adequately nurtured, leading to wasted investments.

Nicole Dezen, CVP Global Partner Solutions at Microsoft, during our State of Partnerships webinar identified the critical role of data: “Data is the epicenter of everything. The challenge is unfortunately, it's a garbage in, garbage out experience. And so, getting data right within Microsoft is I consider to be mission critical.”

Tom Perry, CEO and Founder at Sherpa notes a shift towards sophisticated data analysis, moving beyond revenue metrics to predictive indicators of growth potential. EdisonAI, our advanced assessment platform, leverages AI and machine learning to synthesize data from various systems, providing a comprehensive assessment of Partner performance and alignment. This strategy focuses on identifying growth potential and investment areas, offering a nuanced understanding of Partner capabilities informed by both data and direct feedback.

Adoption Challenges Vendors Face

Vendors often struggle with several adoption challenges that hinder their ability to unlock Partner potential. Nancy Ridge outlines key issues: “Lack of tools. Lack of adoption of the tools they have. Low awareness of the opportunity to change the approach to better partner experience. Poor allocation of budget gives the impression of not having the dollars to invest in better strategies.”

Additionally, 45% of partners are not aligned or skilled enough to extract value from digitally qualified leads. This lack of alignment and infrastructure means that significant investments in leads do not translate into sales-ready opportunities.

Overcoming Adoption Challenges with Data

Tom Perry explains, “We are getting to the age of sophistication. Revenue is a lagging metric, however it’s easy, you know if you’re performing well because you know your revenue is growing. A lot of the work we’re doing is working with Vendor data to look at leading metrics and propensity, looking forward at the ability to grow.”

Accurately measuring Partner readiness for activation and enablement is crucial. Pascale Smith, EVP of Strategy at Sherpa added, “At the core of successful Partner marketing lies the challenge of evaluating elements that are not directly quantifiable by traditional metrics. How aligned are your Partners with your market offerings? How competent are they in executing effective marketing strategies? These questions are vital, as they significantly impact the potential for generating revenue and achieving mutual growth.”

Interesting in learning more? Join our webinar

Discover how to leverage data-driven insights to enhance your partner marketing strategies by joining our upcoming webinar on September 4th where we will be exploring how to unlock Partner Potential.