If you want to run a successful B2B partner program, it’s essential to promote your partners in some way. Without promotion, it’s not really a partnership, is it? In this article, I’ll share with you different ways to promote your partners using “directories.”
Why You Need a Partner Directory.
A well-structured partner directory can offer several advantages for your business:
• Build Trust: Showcase that reputable solution partners trust your product.
• Generate Referrals: Encourage partners to refer clients to your business by promoting them.
• Outsource Services: Leverage partners for services like onboarding, implementation, or support, saving you the cost of hiring additional staff.
• Support Your Teams: Provide your account managers, onboarding team, and customer support team with an easy way to recommend partners during client interactions.
This article isn’t about replacing partner directories because they don’t work—on the contrary, they are effective and they are my personal favourite as an partnerships and marketing agency doing this for while now. However, some founders and SaaS teams may prefer to explore alternative options.
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Summary:
1. Partner Directory - Good for awareness!
2. Freelance Marketplace Redirect - Good for partner to be quickly hired!
3. Top 50 Partner Categories (SEO Experts, Web Designers, POS Experts, etc.) - Good for SEO!
4. Slack Community with Partners - Good for engagement!
5. Paid Templates or “Made With” Directories - Good for partner to make side-money
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Creating a partner directory is one of the most straightforward and effective ways to promote your partners. This approach allows you to engage with partners directly, collecting detailed information about their services. While it might be time-consuming, these conversations keep you actively engaged with your partners and help you stay up-to-date with their offerings. A partner directory is also a valuable resource for your customers, enabling them to find the right partner based on specialties or location. For a quick and easy setup, I recommend using PartnerPage.io. They offer great features, including embedding your navigation bars on the directory page, ensuring a seamless experience that matches your website’s look and feel. To learn more, visit the PartnerPage website or contact Dave at dave.mowbray@partnerpage.io.
Some Partnerpage's examples:
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This is a hidden gem I recently discovered. It takes partner promotion to the next level by making it easy for customers to hire your partners directly from your directory. Think about it like this: if you’re shopping on an e-commerce site, a “Buy with Amazon” button speeds up the purchase process because your payment details are already saved with Amazon.
Similarly, by redirecting your customers to platforms like Fiverr, where they might already have an account, you simplify the hiring process.
Fiverr’s platform allows you to showcase “certified” experts who are verified to have worked on projects related to your products. They also offer “Pro” and “Enterprise” categories to fit different needs. This strategy not only promotes your partners but also integrates them into a larger marketplace ecosystem. You can learn more about Fiverr’s business solutions here.
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Another great strategy is to create curated lists of your top partners by category like Plerdy best 106 digital marketing copywriters. This approach not only highlights the expertise of your partners but also boosts your website’s SEO. For customers, these lists provide a clear view of experts who trust your product and have industry-specific knowledge. I actually discovered Plerdy this way when searching for SaaS landing page messaging experts. Curated lists can be a powerful way to promote partners and improve your search engine rankings at the same time.
Notice how they organize their footer links—it’s much more effective than simply listing “expert lists.” They go a step further by placing different curated lists directly in the footer. I love that approach.
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Building a Slack community is an excellent way to foster interaction between your customers and partners. The benefits are numerous: increased customer engagement, real-time support, feedback, and feature suggestions. Some businesses are hesitant to create such communities due to concerns about increased workload or overwhelming feedback, but the benefits far outweigh the risks.
For example, Relume’s Slack community has grown to over 5,000 members, helping them expand their design agency and grow their integration with Webflow.
At Bond, we started a small Slack community for partners and customers, and it has become a primary channel for new client inquiries. We actually have 2 now!
Companies like Google Firebase and Memoresily have also successfully built vibrant communities.
The most impressive recent example is Clay, with a Slack community of 14,000 people, largely driven by content from creators. This level of engagement is invaluable and demonstrates the power of a well-managed community.
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Consider creating a dedicated page that focuses on the benefits of selling templates or tools made with your product. This can serve as an additional revenue stream for your partners while simultaneously promoting your product’s versatility and applicability across different use cases.
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And might be good for you to also create a partner page just focusing on the benefit of selling template on using your product.
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That’s all for now! I hope you found these tips helpful. If you’re interested in more partnership strategies or want to connect with other partnership experts, join our Slack community. And don’t forget to subscribe to NearboundNews.com for the latest updates and insights.
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