Channel Partners are rapidly expanding their services - before, during, and after the transaction

I have been obsessed with this particular piece of research for a few years. That is when we started to see partners select 3.2 boxes each time they were asked what they do for customers (by business model).

In other words, stop categorizing me as a single partner type in your program.

I am not just a VAR. I am not just an MSP. I am not just an ISV. I am not just a SI. I am no longer just a digital agency. I am not just a telco agent. And so on.

Well, here are the receipts. In a survey last week of 337 global partners, the MOST valuable thing they see in a vendors partner program is being recognized (and paid) across the customer lifecycle - before, during, and after the transaction. In fact, this was twice as valuable as getting pre-sales, technical, or marketing support.

It was almost three times as valuable as access to enablement and certifications.

Back in August we asked 554 global partners (mostly traditional resellers and VARs) to explain the 3.2 boxes they are now checking - but align that to the moments across the customer journey.

The chart at the top of this newsletter shows the majority of them are now charging for services including consulting, design, architecture, configuration, procurement, provisioning/delivery, implementations, integrations, and of course, long term managed services.

A surprising 44% of these VARs are now co-innovating and co-developing products to fit in the customer tech stack! They have become ISVs or IHVs themselves and serving a new integration-first, younger buyer.

If you work at a vendor or distributor, ask yourself:

1. Are we still typecasting our partners - forcing them into a specific part of our program?

2. Are we recognizing the 3.2 boxes they are checking and monitoring, measuring, and managing these customer moments?

3. Have we quantified these partner moments of value with the client back to our own success metrics (lowering our cost to acquire or improving our retention for customer-for-life)?

A partner ecosystem model (including the people, processes, program, and underlying technology) has moved from a nice to have to a need to have in the past year. Are you speaking the partner's language?