What is Partnership Tracking?

Partnership tracking is the process of monitoring and measuring the performance of partnerships to assess their effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. For B2B companies, partnerships have become a strategic imperative by driving revenue and enabling teams to close deals faster. By tracking and analysing partnership performance, companies can optimise their collaborations and maximise their return on investment (ROI).  

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Tracking Partnerships with CRM: A Limited Approach

While CRMs can be a valuable tool for tracking, they often fall short in providing a comprehensive and tailored solution specifically for tracking partnerships (check out this article comparing both CRM vs PRM solutions).

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Here's how CRMs are commonly used to track partnerships:

• Contact Management: CRMs can store basic information about partner contacts, such as names, titles, email addresses, and phone numbers.  
• Deal Tracking: Deals with partners can be tracked within a CRM, similar to tracking deals with customers.  
• Communication History: A record of emails, calls, and meetings can be logged.  
• Document Sharing: Some CRMs allow for sharing and storing documents related to partnerships.

As you can see, that's not a comprehensive list. Many companies are tempted to build CRM’s extensions, by adding more workflows, and so on. However, it’s still a work around and a quick fix, rather than a robust partnership platform. The limitations of using CRMs for partnership tracking include:

• Lack of Specific Partnership Features: CRMs are primarily designed for customer relationship management, not for the intricacies of partner relationships. They often lack features like partner portals, performance dashboards, and specialized reporting tools.  
• Limited Visibility into Partner Performance: While CRMs can track certain aspects of partner performance, they may not provide a holistic view of partner activities, such as marketing efforts, sales pipeline, and customer satisfaction.
• Difficulty in Managing Complex Partner Ecosystems: For companies with large and diverse partner networks, CRMs may struggle to handle the complexity of managing multiple partner types, tiers, and programs.  
• Inefficient Collaboration: CRMs may not provide efficient collaboration tools for joint marketing campaigns, product development, or other collaborative initiatives.

To overcome these limitations, many companies are turning to dedicated Partner Relationship Management (PRM) solutions. PRMs offer a more sophisticated approach to partnership tracking, providing features specifically designed for managing partner relationships.

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Why Partnership Tracking Matters

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1. Performance Measurement

• ‍Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): By setting clear KPIs, companies can measure the success of their partnerships against specific goals. These KPIs can include metrics such as revenue generated, leads acquired, customer referrals, brand awareness, (and many more!) ‍
• Insights: Tracking these metrics provides valuable data-driven insights that can inform decision-making and help teams optimise future strategies.  

2. Multi-Touch Lead Attribution and Credit Allocation‍

• Accurate Attribution: Accurately attributing conversions and sales to the right partners is essential for fair compensation and incentive programs.  
• Fair Compensation: By understanding the impact of each partner, you can ensure that they are fairly compensated for their contributions.  

3. Risk Mitigation

• Identifying Underperforming Partnerships: Tracking performance helps identify underperforming partnerships that may require additional support or termination.
• Proactive Risk Management: By monitoring key metrics, businesses can proactively address potential risks and issues before they escalate.  

4. Optimisation

Data-Driven Optimisation: Analysing performance data can help identify areas for improvement, such as optimising marketing campaigns, refining sales processes, co-selling or enhancing customer experiences.  By continuously tracking companies can fully refine their partnership strategies and drive ongoing growth.

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Beyond the Numbers

While quantitative metrics are crucial, qualitative factors also play a significant role in partnership success. Tracking qualitative data, such as:

• Partner Satisfaction: Gauging partner satisfaction through surveys, feedback forms, or regular check-ins can help identify areas for improvement and strengthen the relationship.
• Collaboration Effectiveness: Assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of joint initiatives, such as co-marketing campaigns or product development collaborations, can highlight opportunities for streamlining processes and maximizing results.
• Strategic Alignment: Monitoring the ongoing alignment between the partner's goals and the company's overall strategy can ensure that the partnership remains mutually beneficial and aligned with long-term objectives.

Combining quantitative and qualitative tracking, enables companies to gain a comprehensive understanding of their partnerships, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions.

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Key Components of Partnership Tracking

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‍Clear Objectives

• Align Goals: If you're partnering with a tech company to develop a new product, ensure both parties agree on the product's target market, key features, and launch timeline.
• Set SMART KPIs: If you're partnering with a marketing agency, KPIs could include:
  • Increased website traffic
  • Improved social media engagement
  • Higher conversion rates

Data Collection and Integration

• Identify Data Sources: Collect data from your CRM, marketing automation tools, and partner-provided sales reports.
• Ensure Data Quality: Regularly clean and validate data to remove duplicates, inconsistencies, and outdated information.
• Centralise Data: Use a data warehouse or a cloud-based data platform to store and manage your partnership data.
• Establish Data Access: Grant access to relevant team members and partners, ensuring data privacy and security.

Tracking and Analytics Tools

• Use Partnership Management Platforms: Utilise platforms like Journeybee to track partner performance, manage deal pipelines, and monitor communication.
• Utilise Analytics Tools: Use Google Analytics to track website traffic, user behavior, and conversion rates.
• Create Custom Reports: Develop reports on partner revenue, lead generation, and customer satisfaction.
• Build Interactive Dashboards: Use tools like Tableau or Power BI to create visual dashboards that show key metrics, trends, and forecasts.

Regular Review and Optimisation

• Schedule Regular Reviews: Conduct quarterly business reviews with your partners to discuss performance, challenges, and opportunities.
• Analyse Performance Data: Use data to identify top-performing partners, underperforming partners, and areas for improvement.
• Optimise Partnerships: If a partner is underperforming, work with them to develop a plan to improve their performance. If a partnership isn't working, consider terminating it.
• Celebrate Successes and Address Challenges: Recognise and reward top-performing partners, and provide support to struggling partners.

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Best Practices for Effective Partnership Tracking

To maximise the benefits of partnership tracking, consider implementing these best practices:

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1. Set Clear Goals and KPIs

• Align with Business Objectives: Ensure that your partnership goals are directly linked to your overall business strategy. For example, if your company's goal is to increase market share in a specific region, your partnership goals might focus on acquiring new customers, expanding into new markets, or launching joint marketing campaigns.
• Develop Measurable Metrics: Establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) KPIs to track progress. These metrics might include revenue generated, leads acquired, customer satisfaction, or brand awareness.
• Prioritise Key Metrics: Focus on the most critical metrics that will drive business impact. For instance, if your primary goal is to increase revenue, you might prioritise metrics like sales revenue, average deal size, and customer lifetime value.

2. Establish Regular Review Processes

• Conduct Periodic Performance Reviews: Schedule regular check-ins with your partners to assess performance and identify areas for improvement. These reviews can be conducted monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on the complexity of the partnership and the frequency of key milestones.
• Identify Areas for Improvement: Analyse performance data to pinpoint opportunities for optimisation and growth. Look for trends, patterns, and anomalies that may indicate areas where additional resources or attention are needed.
• Set Actionable Goals: Develop clear action plans to address any identified issues or capitalise on emerging opportunities. These action plans should be specific, measurable, and time-bound, with clear ownership and accountability.

3. Utilise Technology Solutions

• Implement Dedicated Partnership Tracking Software: Invest in a robust partnership management platform to streamline data collection, analysis, and reporting. These platforms can help you track key metrics, manage communication with partners, and automate routine tasks.
• Leverage AI and Machine Learning: Employ AI-powered tools to automate data analysis, generate insights, and predict future trends. For example, AI can be used to identify potential partners, assess risk, and optimise resource allocation.
• Integrate with Existing Systems: Seamlessly integrate your partnership tracking tools with your CRM, marketing automation, and other relevant systems. This will help you avoid data silos and ensure that you have a single source of truth for all your partnership data.

Conclusion

Effective partnership tracking is crucial for businesses to maximise the value of their partner ecosystems. By implementing robust tracking strategies, companies can gain valuable insights, improve collaboration, optimise resource allocation, and mitigate risks.

To achieve these benefits, consider these key steps:

1. Define clear goals and KPIs.
2. Identify and integrate relevant data sources.
3. Establish a single source of truth.
4. Implement robust data analysis and reporting.
5. Foster strong partner relationships.
6. Continuously monitor and optimise.

By following these best practices, businesses can leverage the power of partnership tracking to drive growth, innovation, and customer satisfaction.