Partnerize CMO Jim Nichols, has had a byline published in PerformanceIn. Jim writes about how revenue partnerships can be shaped to align partner goals and results precisely to your KPIs. With the right data collection and flexible toolset, you can nail your KPIs. Partnerize shares 23 partnerships strategies to help you get there. Here is an excerpt from Jim’s article:
These days, we know more about our customers and their relative value to the business than ever before. That has spawned a fascinating explosion in the number and range of KPIs for brand growth leaders. But the great thing about revenue partnerships is that they can be shaped to align partner goals and results precisely to your KPIs. The most powerful way to create this sort of calibration is to structure partner offers and commissions strategically and with great care. Here is a set of common KPIs, with a set of focusing compensation strategies that will help deliver on those goals.
Every approach outlined here can be delivered today, with the right data collection and flexible toolset.
Maximize customer acquisition
Lots of brands task their growth leaders with growing “new to file.” Here are some ways to do it.
- Identify partners that can individually target users based on whether they have ever bought from you. Then develop a generous commission model that pays them well for each new user they convert.
- Segment your partners by the types of people they attract and craft different commissions for each class based on the likelihood that they will reach and convert new users. Think about influencers and other types of content partners to grow the top of your customer funnel.
- Move beyond a singular focus on bottom funnel “converter partners” to grow the number of buyers who are aware of your products.
- Create a two-tiered program that pays out a base fee for any purchase, and a bonus for every new user they drive.
- Offer a new-customers-only commissioning system in which you only pay for net new purchasers. The key here is to ensure that the bounty is aggressive enough to ensure that partners make enough to justify their investment of time and resources in your program. If your offer is too stingy, partners will pass on it, or quickly drop it once they realize they aren’t making much from the program.
- Expand your program to new regions. The internet enables every connected person in the world to reach your web presence or app. If you have the capability to ship or otherwise deliver your product or service internationally, find partners that can bring your messages and offers beyond your current footprint.
Increase gross margin
Many companies offer goods and services with widely variant profitability. Rather than simply making a one-size-fits-all program that rewards equally regardless of the profit of the goods purchased, consider these more sophisticated approaches.
- Take a category-focused approach to your commissioning. Set different commission rates for different categories of goods based on their relative profitability.
- Related to the one just above, create different commissions or cash payments for different items you sell. For example, offer 4% on that $299 32-inch flat screen, and 12% on the multi-thousand dollar home theater systems. Or, to use a travel example, commission based on length of stay.
- Be conscious of offer “layering” around the holidays. Some companies find that different siloed functions deliver stackable offers at the same time of year, resulting in high sales but little or no profit.
Read the rest of the article in PerformanceIn.