By What do Microsoft, Mailchimp, Oracle, WordPress, and countless other companies have in common? They’ve leveraged reseller partner programs to achieve growth. In fact, most of Microsoft’s $32 billion annual revenue comes in from their partners (Microsoft).
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That probably sounds like it’s good for Microsoft, but what’s in it for a managed service provider like you?
Reseller partner programs can be one of the smartest ways to quickly and strategically scale your IT company and provide exactly what your small and medium business customers want.
We gathered seven facts and stats that help make the case.
1. Most business leaders expect revenue to grow thanks to reseller partnerships
It’s not even a small majority who think reseller partnership ecosystems lead to growth. A full 96 percent believe that their reseller partners will help them grow revenue (Demand Gen).
That’s easy for vendors to say, right? After all, Microsoft is a giant company with thousands of reseller partners (CRN).
In order for Microsoft to increase revenue through its reseller partner program, partners have to sell more Microsoft products. As Microsoft’s revenue climbs, the revenue partners make is also on an upward trajectory.
Think about an Office 365 reseller. Their clients want Microsoft solutions anyway, which makes it easy to sell subscriptions. As part of the reseller program, you get a discounted price, meaning you can make a profit too. The more you sell, the more your revenue grows.
2. Your clients want to streamline their software and their partnerships
We’ve all heard about “one-stop shopping.” What it means is convenience—it’s easy to shop at this store because they have everything you need.
Most business owners like “one-stop shopping” too. This is especially true among small business owners and entrepreneurs. They don’t have time to manage their IT vendor, their marketing partners, their accounting software, their cloud provider, their CRM, and their social media partners (Forbes).
They’re also tired of having a different provider for every different part of their business. They might have dozens of subscriptions, and they don't all work together.
What if they could talk to one single expert and get all their needs fulfilled? It would help them free up time, and it would streamline their software solutions. In turn, they would spend less time dealing with programs that don’t work together.
Better yet, your customers want to turn to a name they already trust to help them. That might be your MSP. They’re already buying managed services from you. What if you could also help them find and add the right tools to automate their email campaigns? What if you could offer tried-and-true hosting, without starting your own server farm?
With reseller partnership programs, you can become that single expert for all your clients’ needs.
3. Customers value trust over everything
There are two driving factors for reseller programs. One is that your customers trust you. They know you, and they know you can deliver excellent service.
The other is that they want solutions they know and trust. By entering reseller partnerships, you can give them the best of both worlds.
Take, for example, email services. You might offer email hosting, but your customer is already using Google’s solution. They know it, and they trust it.
If you offer your own email hosting or a solution from a lesser-known company, the customer will stick with Google.
If you were part of the Google Workspace reseller partner program, then you could win that customer over.
How important is trust when it comes to buying decisions? Consider that about 70 percent of customers buy more from brands they trust (Adobe). Teaming up with Google, then, makes sense for your MSP.
4. Streamlined solutions, bundles, and more
You can join more than one reseller program. By adopting several, you can create fully integrated solutions for your customers.
This, in turn, allows you to bundle certain products and services together for them. They can pick the bundle that best suits their needs. They’re happy because they have the tools they need—and they get your team’s expertise and ongoing service too.
Offering many different reseller programs lets your team cross-sell and upsell as well. Customers who already have one product from you might be interested in others. Your customers trust the recommendations you make.
5. Delivering more of what customers want
Customers are turning to MSPs for more of their needs beyond IT, with the result that experts predict the market will reach $274 billion by 2026 (CIO). Reseller partner programs and service bundles are expected to play major roles in that growth.
Why?
They give your customers more of what they’re looking for.
6. Joining reseller partner programs directly can be tough
Despite all the advantages, reselling SaaS software has its challenges. First, you need to be sure you’re choosing the right options for your customers. Some products you might want to adopt, for example, are too new for your customers to want them too.
Managing relationships with individual vendors can be tough too. Consider that 52 percent of programs have tiers (Crossbeam). Those tiers are usually tied to sales criteria. While this can be good if you’re signing up many clients, tiers can also make it difficult if you’re not selling a lot.
Finally, joining individual reseller partnership programs isn’t always a walk in the park. Many bigger programs have strict criteria for their partners. You could spend a lot of time and effort trying to get approval. Some programs may even require financial investment.
Reseller marketplaces make it easier
One way around these challenges is to join a reseller marketplace. This can allow you to offer customers a wider range of solutions and more options. As an added bonus, you know all those tools have already been vetted.
To join the reseller marketplace, you only need approval once. That saves a lot of time and effort compared to joining each individual program. It can also streamline relationship management for your business.
The marketplace lets you scale faster and move into different market segments. Today, you might want to start offering Google Workspace. Tomorrow, you might realize your clients want marketing automation solutions. A marketplace allows you to offer both almost as soon as the need reveals itself.
Reseller marketplaces are already driving growth. In fact, almost 20 percent of the tech industry’s $3.5 trillion spend goes through marketplaces already (ChannelPartnersConference).
7. Get in on the (1983%) revenue growth
Reseller partner programs help vendors realize exponential growth—one company saw their revenue increase by 1983% (Daniel One). Your business also benefits, because you’ll receive recurring revenue.
A satisfied customer is more likely to buy more from you as well. They may even refer your business to other people they know. A reseller partnership program, then, can help you grow MSP revenue in quite a few different ways.
Build your business with reseller partner programs
Reseller partner programs let you offer more to your customers. They get the tools they need, plus your team’s outstanding service, from a provider they trust.
You and the vendor can grow your revenue streams and your businesses, while focusing on what you do best. If you’re thinking about offering your customers more digital products and branching out from IT services to increase revenue, reseller partner programs from a marketplace are the best way to get started—today.