Business solution providers are coming to the realization that one-size-fits-all partner programs don’t always meet the needs of all their channel partners. One company moving toward customized partner programs is Cogeco Peer 1, which recently launched its new Cogeco Peer 1 Partner Portal and three new partner programs.
The programs’ goals, according to the company—which provides products and services such as colocation, network connectivity, hosting, cloud and managed services—is to help channel partners drive growth and provide better service to their customers, along with growing its own network of partners. Currently, Cogeco Peer 1 has more than 100 partners globally, with nearly half of them in North America.
The company created the new programs based on feedback from partners in a variety of industries. For one thing, the new partner portal provides a centralized location for partners, including digital agencies, system integrators, value-added resellers, agents, developers, managed service providers and independent software vendors. Partners get access to typical data, such as deal registration, marketing and sales enablement, and product and technical resources.
As added benefits, the portal is also integrated with Salesforce and is available in four languages: English, French, Spanish and German. Integration with Salesforce is a big benefit, considering it is the market leader in the customer relationship management (CRM) space. The portal also is segmented by partner program and region, providing customized access to different functionality and resources within the site, said the company.
The three partner programs—Referral, Referral Plus and Reseller Partner—are segmented based on how deep of a relationship the channel partner wants with Cogeco Peer 1. For example, the Referral Partner Program suits partners just getting started or those that only want to be paid on a per-deal basis. It’s a simple concept: Partners refer business to the company and receive payment for each closed deal.
On the other hand, the Referral Plus Partner Program provides recurring commissions by referring business to Cogeco Peer 1, as long as the partners have an ongoing relationship with the company and with the customers they referred to Cogeco Peer 1. The quarterly commissions are based on the monthly recurring revenue volume.
The Reseller Partner Program allows partners to resell select products and services at a discounted rate. Upshot: Partners get higher margins and access to more opportunities.
The two things all the partners have in common is that they get customized access to the Cogeco Peer 1 Partner Portal, and they get an assigned channel account executive.