For partner managers, the challenge of overseeing an ecosystem of partnerships efficiently is all too familiar. From onboarding new partners to monitoring ongoing collaborations, the workload can quickly become unmanageable. This is where partner management software (PRM) comes into play, offering a streamlined solution to handle every aspect of your partnerships in one place. Whether it's tracking key performance indicators, facilitating communication, or managing shared resources, the right software can make all the difference.
Dive into our guide to find the best partner management software that can help you maintain strong, productive relationships with ease.
Partner management software is a digital tool designed to help businesses streamline and automate the processes involved in managing and collaborating with their external partners, including affiliates, resellers, and distributors, ultimately facilitating more effective partnerships.
Once you understand what partner management software is and why you may need one to run your partner program, the next step is to select the best PRM software for your organization.Because partner management software systems vary in features and capabilities, here are some guidelines on choosing one that can best help you achieve your business goals: 1) Choose a PRM tool that integrates with your current systems so your channel management team gets this adopted across departments with ease. If your organization has other complex systems (such as a CRM or marketing automation), make sure the vendor offers seamless integration with those too. 2) Choose a system that is easy to use for your channel manager. The success of any partner management software implementation depends on user adoption-both yours and those of your channel partner. Make sure the interface is intuitive and easy to learn so you don't run into churn with a potential partner. 3) Your PRM solution should enable you to grow your partner ecosystem if necessary. Not all organizations intend to grow their channels rapidly, but if growth is in your future plans, it's important to choose a scalable system whose capabilities can accommodate more partners over time. 4) Choose a PRM platform that can track channel enablement metrics like; partner sales (direct sales), recruiting partners, partner marketing, partner engagement, sales enablement and partner commissions.
While there are many tools on the market that can help you with channel management processes, many of them provide only partial features. Partner management software (PMS), however, is a fully-loaded solution that allows partner managers to achieve all of the following: Identify and recruit new channel partners through automation and reporting; Automate partner onboarding with a branded partner portal, knowledge base, and reduced paperwork; Manage partner activity and relationships through centralization of communications; Consolidate partner sales tracking, partner performance and reconciliation of partner commissions across partners for accurate accounting. In other words, your PMS is a one-stop solution for managing revenue as well as your entire partner ecosystem.
There are many benefits that come to implementing a partnership management solution for your small business or large organization, also known as PRM software, for your partnerships team, including, but not limited to: Improved partner experience, better partner relationships, increased partner loyalty, easier partner engagement, better partner training and onboarding, better partner marketing and co-marketing, improved partner sales, increased partner revenue, higher partner ROI (return on investment), improved partner communications and collaboration.
Partner management is the process of recruiting partners, engaging, and nurturing relationships with the goal to drive business growth for both parties. Partner management is often confused with customer relationship management (CRM), but the two are different: CRM focuses on managing relationships between a company and its customers, while partner management entails identifying, engaging, and maintaining relationships with external partners. If you have a potential partner, your business' channel partner manager needs to be building long-term partner relationships. How can you manage your relationships with them if you can't keep track of who they are, their goals, or their expectations? Similarly, how can you fulfill those expectations if you don't know them? The obvious answer to all of these questions is that you can't. Keeping track of each partner is crucial to understanding where the relationship stands at a given time.
The main difference between a CRM (like Salesforce CRM) and PRM software is that customer relationship management (CRM) is a term that refers to the practices, strategies, and technologies that companies use to manage and analyze customer interactions and data to improve business relationships. A partner relationship management, or PRM software, helps to automate the interactions between sellers and their partners. The goal of the PRM solution is to manage a company's network of relationships with channel partners. The software helps streamline order processing, sales tracking, commission payment and also acts as a hub for sales enablement and channel enablement content. It also provides analytical tools to help partners make better decisions about running their businesses.
With over 7 years navigating the intricate realms of marketing, and specifically B2B partner marketing, Nick has forged collaborations with top-tier tech brands, prominent agencies, and some of the industry's foremost B2B publishers and content creators. His deep immersion in both marketing landscapes showcases a trajectory of expertise and innovation. Identifying a significant void in specialized resources, he founded Growann.
The aspiration? Deliver unparalleled insights and guidance, carving out a dedicated space where the broader marketing and B2B partner marketing communities can flourish.