Having worked in partnerships for a while and seen hundreds of partner programs—ranging from small SaaS startups to massive enterprise platforms—I can confidently say that I cannot stand “tiers” in partner programs.
They are outdated, ineffective, and fundamentally flawed. Here’s why:
At their core, tiers exist for the company, not for the partners. They’re just a way to classify partners into two buckets:
• “Strategic partners” (a.k.a. the ones who drive revenue)
• Everyone else (a.k.a. the ones you tolerate but don’t care about)
From a partner’s perspective, it’s a blatant carrot-on-a-stick approach. Enterprise-tier partners get all the premium benefits—priority support, co-marketing, product roadmap influence—while lower-tier partners get fluff benefits that sound good but mean nothing in practice.
And let’s not forget how partner teams operate under this system: they only care about the top tiers. This is evident in partner qualification forms that look like a job application exam, full of unnecessary hurdles just to discourage the “wrong” type of partners from joining.
Here’s a radical idea: instead of artificially creating partner tiers, let your product dictate who your best partners are.
Look at Shopify and Shopify Plus.
Shopify doesn’t have a “Gold Partner” or “Platinum Partner” system. Instead, they built Shopify Plus as the enterprise version of their product. That automatically created a clear separation in the partner ecosystem.
• Agencies that set up Shopify Plus stores naturally get better deals, more enterprise clients, and stronger positioning.
• Tech partners that build specifically for Shopify Plus can price their apps differently, target a premium audience, and stand out in the ecosystem.
This creates a real authentication factor. A Shopify Plus agency is instantly recognized as operating at a higher level—just like how Formula 1 is the gold standard for motorsport.
No arbitrary tiers. No “exclusive badges” that only exist to create artificial competition. Just a natural separation driven by the product.
Another hard truth: partners don’t care about the random benefits you offer in a deck.
They don’t join your program for a logo on their site. They don’t care about webinars or newsletters. They don’t wake up excited about “co-branded marketing opportunities.”
They care about one thing: Do you have customers that need their services?
If yes, they’ll invest in the partnership. If not, no amount of discounts, badges, or certification programs will make a difference.
This is why referral programs often fail for agencies. A software company will ask agencies to refer customers, but they give nothing in return—no leads, no business opportunities, no real incentives.
The Fix: Change Your Product, Not Your Partner Program
Instead of gatekeeping partners behind tiers, do this:
• Create product versions that naturally separate partners (e.g., Standard vs. Enterprise)
• Make sure there’s enough demand in your ecosystem so partners can actually win business
• Directly route relevant customers to partners instead of throwing “partner benefits” at them
If you want partners to care, make your product a real business driver for them. Anything else is just noise.
This keeps your strong opinions and blunt approach but makes it clearer, more structured, and packed with concrete examples. Let me know if you want to tweak anything further!
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