Presentation slides from the webinar "Deciphering the Voice of the Partner" by CCI with SiriusDecions.

1. Deciphering the Voice of
the Partner
Break the Code to Unlocking
Partner Potential!

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Presenters
Steven Kellam
President
CCI | Global Channel
Management
Kathy Contreras
Sr. Research Director
Channel Marketing Strategies
SiriusDecisions

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Agenda
Deciphering the Voice of the Partner
• Importance
• Goals
• Common elements
• How to get started

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• The channel is an engine of growth for an increasing number of suppliers
• Increasing competition for partner mindshare
• Partners are selective about investing in vendors, partner experience is a primary
decision driver in those selections
• Ease of doing business is one of the key reasons partners add or drop a supplier
• Evidence shows that partner experience (PX) directly impacts partner engagement,
performance and loyalty
• PX directly impacts customer experience (CX), which is gaining in importance
across B-to-B organizations
Why Do Suppliers Consider PX a Priority?
SiriusPerspective: Most executives running multi-channel, b-to-b organizations report
that improving their partners’ experiences is one of their top priorities.

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Voice of the Partner ▶ ▶ ▶ Top Goals
Partner Commitment
and Loyalty
Partner
Advocacy
Partner Satisfaction

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Partner Listening Programs (formal and informal)
Partner Advisory Councils
Partner Experience (PX) Surveys
Partner Interviews
Channel Account Managers
Partner Communities and Events
Partner Advocacy/Reference Programs
Voice of the Partner ▶ ▶ ▶ Common Elements

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Partner Listening Programs (formal and informal)
Partner Advisory Councils
Partner Experience (PX) Surveys
Partner Interviews
Channel Account Managers
Partner Communities and Events
Partner Advocacy/Reference Programs
Voice of the Partner ▶ ▶ ▶ Common Elements

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Partner Advisory Councils
Provide valuable opportunity to strengthen relationships with your partners,
gain partner insight and validation, uncover issues and set priorities.
• Member selection and rotation
• Meeting frequency and location
• Topic selection
• Internal attendees

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Evaluate level of partner satisfaction with their experience with the you as the
supplier as well as what your partners think of that experience versus the
competition.
• Planning and process
• Frequency and design
• Structure and components
Partner Experience Surveys

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When building and executing PX surveys, avoid common PX survey
design pitfalls.
• Do not confuse with a CX survey
• Do not confuse with partner data
collection, partner evaluation, or
partner scorecarding
• Do not ask unnecessary questions
Partner Experience Surveys (Continued)

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More elusive partners often require more direct contact to obtain insights on
their experiences and satisfaction levels. Leverage multiple sources and
various means to gather the feedback needed.
• Face-to-face meetings
• Phone interviews
• Group feedback forums
• Account teams
• Distributors/brokers
Partner Interviews Channel Account Teams

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Partner Communities and Events
Voices from the crowd: consider additional opportunities to gather both
solicited and unsolicited partner feeback.
• Partner events (annual parnter summits, regional partner events, meetups, etc.)
• Online partner communities and closed social media/networks
• Association meetings, industry events, channel conferences and open social
media/networks

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Reference/Advocacy Programs
Goals of voice of the partner programs include establishing superior partner
experience/satisfaction, ensuring partner commitment and loyatly, and
ultimately igniting partner advoacy.
• Partner referrals
• Partner references
• Partner advocacy

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Voice of the Partner ▶ ▶ ▶ How to Get Started
• Assign ownership, establish Voice of the
Partner or Partner Experience as a function
within the channel marketing organization
• Assess current state of partner experience
and engagement; define goals
• Establish comprehensive approach to
gaining partner insights
• Ongoing measurement for continual process
improvement
• Evaluate success against goals
Six Core Components
✓ Partner segmentation
✓ Information gathering
✓ Feedback analysis and
prioritization
✓ Information sharing
✓ Taking action
✓ Closing the loop

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Q & A
Steven Kellam
@CCIChannels
www.linkedin.com/in/stkellam
Kathy Contreras
@KWContreras
www.linkedin.com/in/kathyf1

17. Thank You!