Partner Relationship Management
Summarize
Summary of Partner Relationship Management
The Partner Relationship Management (PRM) application helps enterprises efficiently engage and collaborate with channel partners such as resellers and system integrators. It manages the entire partner lifecycle including onboarding, support, and communication through a centralized system. PRM streamlines sales processes, improves partner satisfaction, and enhances collaboration by providing a structured platform for case management and partner interactions via the Partner Portal.
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By enabling partners to raise cases, track issues, and communicate directly with the enterprise, PRM reduces delays and friction that typically affect partner satisfaction and business outcomes. The solution also prevents conflicts such as overlapping deals through tools like Deal Registration Management, ensuring partners are recognized and rewarded for sourced opportunities.
Use Case Example
For instance, ABC Systems, a global channel partner, uses PRM to submit and manage support cases through the Partner Portal. This role-based access allows ABC’s teams to independently raise and track cases, access program participation details via dashboards, and verify partner entitlements. Concurrently, the enterprise XYZ utilizes PRM to centrally manage and route partner cases, monitor engagement, and improve support efficiency. This results in faster issue resolution and stronger partner relationships.
Key Benefits
- Enhanced partner experience: Simplifies onboarding and lifecycle management, leading to quicker integration and higher partner satisfaction.
- Increased sales and revenue: Facilitates better collaboration to boost partner sales performance and improve deal conversion rates.
- Improved operational efficiency: Provides transparency into partner activities and encourages partner self-service, reducing manual efforts.
Partner Portal
The Partner Portal is a crucial feature that allows channel partners to create and track cases, register staff members, and access knowledge articles, fostering a seamless support experience.
Next Steps for ServiceNow Customers
To implement or configure PRM, customers should refer to the configuration guides and related applications such as Deal Registration and Segment Management. Installing related plugins like Sales Common and Order Management further supports channel partner management capabilities.
Learn how the Partner Relationship Management application enables enterprises to hire and engage channel partners to sell their products and services to grow and improve their business.
Overview of Partner Relationship Management
Channel partners streamline and help manage the sales process of a product or a service for an enterprise. The PRM solution offers tools to manage the end-to-end partner life cycle.
PRM enables an efficient and continuous partner engagement and collaboration system with the enterprise to provide essential support. The PRM system enables partner onboarding, life cycle management, and improves the overall collaboration between channel partners and enterprises. To learn how to configure Partner Relationship Management, see Configure Partner Relationship Management.
The collaboration improves case management solutions and enables partners to log in to the Partner Portal to raise concerns or queries and communicate directly with the enterprise. This provides better resolutions leading to improved enterprise and partner collaboration.
In the partner ecosystem, channel partners such as resellers and system integrators are critical to expanding an enterprise's reach and drive customer success. Channel partners often must raise operations, sales, and service related issues directly with the enterprise. However, without a structured servicing and collaboration system, partners experience delays, inefficiencies, and friction that impact both partner satisfaction and business outcomes. The PRM solution can build a bridge between the channel partners and enterprises.
Use the Deal Registration Management plugin to ensure partners are recognized and rewarded for the opportunities they source and develop. Enterprises can also properly manage an upcoming deal from partners and help prevent multiple partners or internal teams from overlapping on the same customer or opportunity. To learn more about the Deal Registration Management application, see Deal Registration.
Use case
ABC systems, a global technology reseller and implementation channel partner for XYZ solutions (enterprise), operates across North America with hundreds of active customer engagements. ABC's consulting and delivery teams frequently encounter challenges requiring direct support from XYZ, such as clarification on licensing models or product configurations. With the Partner Relationship Management solution, ABC no longer needs to rely on ad hoc emails, informal escalation channels, or multiple sessions leading to delays.
- Submit and manage support cases through the Partner portal designed for easy access and case tracking.
- Benefit from a role-based experience where channel partner managers and associates can independently raise cases and monitor the status without dependency on enterprise contacts.
- Gain visibility into program participation and support activities through personalized dashboards.
- Use the unified partner data model to confirm that entitlements and participation in XYZ's partner programs are accurately tracked and easily accessible.
- View and fulfill cases raised by the channel partner ABC in a centralized workspace.
- Route assignments to the appropriate support agents.
- Track channel partner engagement levels within ABC via real-time dashboards.
By streamlining support and collaboration through PRM, ABC reduces its resolution time, improves internal efficiency, and strengthens its partnership with XYZ.
Key benefits of PRM
- Enhances partner experience- Support partner onboarding and life cycle management to provide an improved interaction system between channel partners and enterprises. This increases partner satisfaction and reduces onboarding time.
- Increase sales and revenue- Streamline and improve collaboration between enterprises and their partners to increase partner sales and performance to enable higher partner-initiated revenue and efficient deal conversion rates.
- Increase operational efficiency- Provide visibility into the partner ecosystem and enable partners to achieve their business goal to decrease manual intervention and increase partner self-service.
Partner Portal
The Partner portal enables channel partners to create cases, register external members as staff, and view knowledge articles.
To learn more about the Partner portal, see Using Partner Relationship Management.