The Value of Partnerships Part 2 – Giving Customers What They Want

Partnerships really are a win-win situation. We learned how you, as a B2B technology company, can leverage the existing customer base of your partners to access new markets and prospects quickly in Part 1 of this series on understanding the value of partnerships.

Partners themselves benefit from opening new revenue streams.

They also benefit in another important way. By diversifying their offering, partners are giving their customers more of what they want, giving themselves more opportunities to make more sales and further develop their credibility as a go-to resource for all things technology. It also makes things easier for their customers. More like. More trust. More benefit. Resellers, you know this is what you want.

Customers want to buy more products and services from you.

Consumers are faced day in and day out with a myriad of choices, whether it comes to doing their grocery shopping, or making important IT buying decisions while on the job.

In reality, having so many choices, so many options, and so many vendors to choose from is overwhelming. People don’t want to make the wrong decision. When it comes to business and technology, they don’t want to go with a company that doesn’t have the right fit for their specific needs, or doesn’t deliver the customer experience they were anticipating. This results in wasted time and money.

What they want is to buy from companies they already like and trust. And this is why it’s a win-win situation for your partners to come on board with your offering. Their customers want to buy more from them. Adding another offering is like the proverbial low hanging fruit. If they need the solution and see the value in it, and their existing web host or service provider offers it, there’s a very good chance they are going to reach out and pluck that apple.

So now it’s time to give it to them.

Your resellers might have all the communications channels open. Now it’s time to support them and be sure that they are leveraging all opportunities for promoting your product or service. More sales for you means more commissions for them. Win-win.

So how can you as a partner (VAR) make sure that you are making the most of the opportunity? Think about all the different ways that you can leverage your existing touch points to further educate your customer base about the new product or solution you are offering.

Here are just a few ideas…

• Get your customer service and sales teams on board. They are already talking to the customer base. Train them in educating and informing users about the new offering.
• Get it out on all your social media channels.
• Highlight the offering in company email signatures, especially important for the teams and departments that deal directly with the customer base.
• Add a call to action about the product at the bottom of invoices or bills. A “did you know we offer this” can be a great way to draw attention to an offering your customers may not have realized you provide.
• Include information in your email newsletters.
• Feature the product on your website or even once a user is logged in, either displayed directly or embedded in your control panel.
• Blog about it.

In short, leverage all the communications channels you have. All of your internet marketing and advertising efforts can play a role. Use them to your advantage.

In Part 3 of this series, we will look at how partnerships can help you, as a B2B technology company, optimize your offering through a VAR relationship.