Solutions Incentives

Partner incentive program changes drive higher customer satisfaction by rewarding solutions approach

The Challenge

How do I incent changes in partners’ solution offerings to drive greater customer satisfaction?

The client, a vice-president at a leading business applications ISV, needed a new approach to incenting and measuring solution providers’ performance. The company’s partner program was application-centric and failed to reward the behavior or create the commitment necessary to meet market expectations.

Under the current program, partners were simply installing application software without providing additional value-added services or support. This resulted in customer frustration, as their needs and expectations were often not met.

To drive the right behaviors and better satisfy customers, the partner program needed to focus solution providers on offering more value-added capabilities and industry vertical solutions. Structured channel management was necessary to develop essential program requirements and meaningful benefits that would change partner offerings and behaviors.

The client turned to Touch to help the company:

  • Shift the structure of their partner ecosystem to a greater value-add model
  • Reward solution providers for moving from general application offerings to industry vertical solutions, stack integration and implementation
  • Drive executive and stakeholder alignment and support for the necessary programmatic changes

The Approach

Restructure the channel program and incentives to better align partners’ interests with customers’ needs

  • Collected, organized, and interpreted program data to provide insight that would drive effective decision making
  • Identified changes needed to key channel program levers such as: marketing, demand generation, training, engagement, readiness and financial incentives
  • Designed an enhanced channel program that addressed the requirements of the business applications software market
  • Constructed a communications framework that provided visibility on project status and progress
  • Drafted communications that drove support from multiple executive and cross-group stakeholders
  • Managed the internal transition to the new channel program
  • Managed the global roll out of the new program to solution providers

The Result

More satisfied customers and higher partner and client returns

  • Successfully incented partners to provide more value-added solution offerings, including industry vertical solutions, stack integration and implementation
  • Drove greater customer satisfaction and higher returns for the channel and the client through the new partner program
  • Enhanced the company’s ability to target, engage with and motivate partners
  • Streamlined solution deployment and provision of vertical offerings through targeted readiness training
  • Created executive and stakeholder alignment and support for the new program

“Touch was key in the transformation of our channel program. With all of the effort we have put into the strategy, Touch has matched it with a detailed plan for getting into the hearts and minds of the field and the partners, followed by relentless execution and communication.”