The Scope
This leading data solutions provider that thrives off challenging the norm and disrupting the enterprise storage industry wanted to relaunch their global partner program in a unique way: By identifying those who influence purchase decisions – Partner Technical Champions (PTCs).
They wanted to educate the carefully selected PTCs to demonstrate brand differentiation between the provider and their competitors. By enabling the PTCs to use their advantageous position in this way, the solutions provider hoped to impact sales pipeline and drive incremental business results.
The Challenge
However, this PTC targeted, global program was launching during a worldwide pandemic, so encouraging participation and engagement became an even bigger challenge. With no face-to-face support from the brand's Partner Technical Managers, no access to launch events, postponed partner forums and bi-annual personal training, the provider needed to invest in other engagement tactics to gain partners attention and participation in the program.
The Solution
To enable this, the solution provider decided to use 360insights points-based rewards technology to create a tiered incentive program to drive PTC interest. The program was easily accessible via the Partner Portal and as participants increased sales, expanded their knowledge and demonstrated advocacy they advanced to the next level tier: Member > Champion > Legend.
- PTC bookings values and training session data (from Salesforce) were uploaded weekly
- PTC Accreditations were rewarded with digital badges
- PTC engagement points (scale 5-1000) were awarded for demonstrating advocacy.(E.g.: 5 points – social follow, 50 points – join Partner Portal Directory, 500 points – blog write)
For each tier progression, PTCs received a trophy, welcome box and access new benefits and advanced resources.
The Results
The introduction of the PTC Rewards Program has produced results across education, advocacy and insights – which in turn as driven incremental revenue.
PTCs are fully certified across the brands’ products and solutions thanks to the program’s consistency and reward of information training: which in turn creates valuable technical experts in the enterprise storage community with enhanced motivation to increase the business.
The program also encourages a trusted advisory relationship which has provided the brand with valuable, honest feedback on their products, solutions, and messaging enabling them to create an efficient go-to-market program strategy based on PTC buy-in.
The brand – with help from 360insights - can be credited with launching a new wave of channel incentive to establish a disruptive initiative that partners embraced. Targeting the technical experts enabled a powerful force of educated specialists to influence sales pipeline and business growth.
