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Why You Should Start a Technology Partner Program
partnerstack.com
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Since your technology partners usually have a similar audience to you and are well-versed in your product, they can make great referral partners. “Otherwise, make it a component of the technology partner program.” You can also require that your tech partners pay you for the referrals that you send them. This can create additional revenue for your company as long as those referrals are delivering real value to your partners.
What is a technology partnership? “Technology partners are other software companies that your product is built to integrate with, or who build integrations for your product themselves — which is why they’re often referred to as integration partners.” But an integration alone does not make a partnership. The secret to why technology partnerships work is the way they make your product more discoverable.
Technology partnerships generate more qualified leads “The most obvious benefit of technology partnerships is one common to many partner programs: They drive qualified leads you wouldn’t get elsewhere.” When you integrate with large platforms that run their own marketplaces, your product becomes immediately discoverable by buyers who are looking for tools that work with their existing tech stack.
But an integration alone does not make a partnership. The secret to why technology partnerships work is the way they make your product more discoverable. “More business buyers are conducting digital discovery and purchasing through online marketplaces.” Because business buyers are looking to marketplaces to find new products and purchase through self-serve channels, having your product show up there is crucial. That’s where technology partners come in.
The most obvious benefit of technology partnerships is one common to many partner programs: They drive qualified leads you wouldn’t get elsewhere. “When you integrate with large platforms that run their own marketplaces, your product becomes immediately discoverable by buyers who are looking for tools that work with their existing tech stack.” That’s how customer communications platform Aircall got going. “A lot of B2B buyers purchase through the app marketplaces of larger companies, like HubSpot, Zendesk and Salesforce. When Aircall first got started, a significant number of our initial customers found us through these exchanges,” says Jeff Reekers, the company’s former Chief Marketing Officer.
Related: Here's how to prioritize integration partners. “Larger marketplaces will also provide you with contact and behavioral data on users who clicked on your page or attempted to install your integration.” But that doesn’t mean you should only focus on the largest marketplaces, especially if they already have products that compete with yours. “The bigger the marketplace, the harder it is to get on the radar of the users,” Reekers says. He suggests looking at both larger marketplaces and newer platforms that aren’t as saturated. “HubSpot’s app directory was younger when we entered it,” he explains. “We were the first company in our category, and so there was an open opportunity to solve a real problem for their users.”
Related: Here's how to prioritize integration partners. “Many of them will be qualified prospects for your marketing and sales teams to follow up with.” But that doesn’t mean you should only focus on the largest marketplaces, especially if they already have products that compete with yours. “The bigger the marketplace, the harder it is to get on the radar of the users,” Reekers says. He suggests looking at both larger marketplaces and newer platforms that aren’t as saturated. “HubSpot’s app directory was younger when we entered it,” he explains. “We were the first company in our category, and so there was an open opportunity to solve a real problem for their users.”
Technology partners are other software companies that your product is built to integrate with, or who build integrations for your product themselves — which is why they’re often referred to as integration partners. “But an integration alone does not make a partnership.” More business buyers are conducting digital discovery and purchasing through online marketplaces. A Forrester report predicts that by 2026, more than 50 per cent of large B2B purchases will be through digital self-serve channels, such as a vendor’s own site or a marketplace. These marketplaces range from big players like AWS Marketplace and the Salesforce AppExchange to more niche (but targeted) channels.
Larger marketplaces will also provide you with contact and behavioral data on users who clicked on your page or attempted to install your integration. Many of them will be qualified prospects for your marketing and sales teams to follow up with. “But that doesn’t mean you should only focus on the largest marketplaces, especially if they already have products that compete with yours.” As with any other lead generation channel, you have to put work into promotion if you want to stand out from competitors and see real results. Paying for marketplace ads, sharing the integration through your existing marketing channels and asking customers to leave reviews all help to get increased visibility and leads from large marketplaces.
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