PartnerHacker Weekend 04/29: Retention Is The New Acquisition

A quick recap of the PhD from this week:

• The Partner Moment Has Arrived
• Drive Revenue Together
• Simple, not Easy
• Who Does Your Buyer Trust?
• Trust is the New Data

Recently published:

• PartnerUp #108 - How To Get Fired as a Partner Manager with Jared & Isaac
• Breaking News Roundup: Microsoft Exec Becomes CTO, HP's Business Model, and Cisco Investing $100 Million in Partners
• Connecting your CRM to The Partnerverse by Brian Hattaway
• Prove the Value of Your Channel Program Using 7 Critical Metrics by Andy Drummond
• Howdy Partners #31: The Salesforce Ecosystem - Tech vs. Service Partner Perspectives with Michael Jed Lantis
• Marketing Together #10 - 6 Do's & Don'ts of Partner Marketing You Can't Ignore Logan Lyles
• The PX Factor: How Outstanding Partner Experiences Elevate Customer Satisfaction by Bernhard Friedrichs
• Despite The Economy, Gartner Projects Double-Digit Growth As Companies Find Ways to Do More with Less
• Ecosystem Creator Lab #9: "I Did" Beats "I Should" by Micaela Richmond and Will Taylor
• How To Win Budget For Partner Tech by Randalyn Hill and Micaela Richmond

Retention is a strategic intention

What's the most valuable thing, outside of revenue, that partners are driving on behalf of customers? It's trust!" - Jason Yarborough

I had a convo with Jason Yarborough last week. He told me we have a trust attrition issue in partnerships right now.

If you're cutting partner programs, you're losing trust.

Think about it from a customer standpoint, a revenue standpoint, or an attrition standpoint 🤔.

Trust attrition creates a relationship deficiency.

Yet, relationship retention needs to be prioritized right now more than ever.

Jason said:

Retention is the new acquisition. And retention must be a strategic intention.

If you want to retain customers, you need to realize that it's the partner leader who bestows trust.

When you get rid of a leader, trust goes with them. The partner leader gains trust on behalf of the company.

The company doesn't bestow trust unto the PAM or magically gain it from a partner.

It’s a relationship, through and through.

The next time you think about cutting your partner program, think about the trust attrition that could follow.