Combining Frameworks for Partnership Success

When it comes to building a career in partnerships, you CAN take it with you when you go (and you should)...

As we work through another annual planning cycle at Appfire , I've been reflecting on the power of bringing past experiences together from diverse business cultures to attack current challenges. While I find that we're often sensitive to the coworker who walks around reminding everyone that they "solved problems like these when they worked at XYZ," there is also incredible power in combining different frameworks from successful organizations of your past to run your business today.

Want examples? I got you...

1. When hired for my current role from "outside the ecosystem," I knew I had a lot to learn about SaaS marketplaces. "This ecosystem is different/unique" is said far too often and while it is often true under the microscope, I soon realized that my time at Amazon gave me great perspective on the power of the #marketplace, and the inherent dynamics that make the flywheel spin.

I've often heard, "Amazon isn't the same; that's a physical goods marketplace (not SaaS)," but I think that misses the point. In his famous 2008 Shareholder Letter, Jeff Bezos called out the three Customer Experience Pillars of Price, Selection, and Convenience. Truly, are these pillars any different in an ecosystem-driven, SaaS marketplace? Customers come for broad selection (vendors win). That broad selection creates inherent competition amongst sellers that results in market-based pricing (customers win). Convenience comes from a single-stop shopping experience with fast delivery and helpful support (the platform wins). Don't the fundamentals of a physical goods marketplace (which has been around for thousands of years) sound quite similar to these "unique" SaaS spaces that are springing up everywhere?

I also find it insightful that Jeff B. called these "Customer Experience" pillars, as it's a reminder that at the center of all the machinations is the need to drive a consistently delightful customer experience... Not a bad way to drive retention in an ARR-driven world, huh software people?

The big takeaway here is that complex systems can often be simplified by focusing on a few key fundamentals. Here? Understand WHY your customer is shopping the way they are, and create a delightful, differentiated experience for your storefront.

2. My next career stop was at Qualtrics , which represents a shorter tenure, but no shortage of learning. Perhaps my most important takeaway from my time at "Q" was the reminder that behind every data point (whether customer feedback, revenue, support ticket etc.) lies a unique human experience that we can programmatically identify, measure, and improve. Should we still create robust, data-driven listening and performance measurement systems to drive our business? Yes. Should that happen at the expense of the humanity and relevant context of each of our customers? Nope.

This framework has become one of the cornerstones of my philosophy on #partnerships, which focuses on the strategic balance of qualitative and quantitative approaches to collaborative growth. If you build great products and your competition does too (table stakes for a healthy, thriving marketplace), what sets you apart? The differentiator here is the experience you deliver to your #partners and customers. That experience can come from investments in tools, programs, campaigns, and incentives, but it can most easily come in the form of simply being delightful to do business with.

Why is this so important in partnerships? Because the difficult truth is this: In most cases, you're not just fighting for a partner's business, you're fighting for their time and attention. If a partner doesn't HAVE to talk to you, how can you ensure they'll WANT to talk to you? Be Human. There will be a day when that partner has a customer problem to solve, and they may not no where to go. What if they called you first because they knew that whether or not you had a silver bullet for them, they would enjoy the conversation? At worst, you can be an empathetic collaborator. At best, you could end up a hero and create a new champion. Either way, you've created a new opportunity by focusing on a balance of give & take, rather than just taking.

What frameworks from your past can you apply to your current role? I'd bet that if you spent some time in reflection, you'd be surprised by how many good things you picked up along the journey that got you to where you are today.

Be well.