Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Partnership Marketing Agency?
Selecting the best agency to support your partnership marketing program is a daunting task. What’s more, your choice can have a significant and long-term impact on your organization’s growth, revenue and future. Take steps now to expand your reach, achieve (or exceed) performance goals and future-proof your partnership marketing program, even amid challenging times or a competitive market.
Here are a few key things to consider when beginning the partnership marketing agency search process – or when it’s time to identify a new agency that can better deliver the support, expertise and results needed to drive scalable and profitable growth…
Look for an Agency with a Reputation for Deep Partnership
The partnership marketing industry is built upon relationships, and the relationship with your partnership marketing agency may be the most critical of all.
An exceptional agency partner will:
- Seek to understand the complexities of your organization
- Work with you to develop a transparent, results-driven program
- Act as a steward and protector of your brand
- Always pursue value and opportunity both neutrally and in the best interest of your brand
Examine the average length of client engagements or the agency retention rate. We’ve seen many agencies bring on a significant number of clients, only to work with them for one year or even a period of months. Why is that?
At Acceleration Partners, we believe that your partnership marketing agency should have your back, always, and work to nurture a successful, long-lasting and productive partnership.
Acceleration Partners is trusted by more than 170 leading brands—be it a niche brand, enterprise brand or something in between, all our clients can expect the same level of unwavering partnership and relentless pursuit of program excellence. And, of course, we at Acceleration Partners are committed to delivering data-informed recommendations and driving measurable results.
Our consistently high customer satisfaction scores and long-term relationships are a result of helping clients achieve:
- $7.3B+ in revenue
- 100M+ conversions
- 36% YoY program growth (on average)
How Experienced and Knowledgeable is the Account Management Team?
The best partnership marketing agency partner will deliver a highly collaborative service experience that is designed to support your unique business requirements and goals.
Your account team will carefully examine your needs and guide you through the refinement of an existing partnership marketing program or building a new program. They will use data-driven insights to seek new opportunities for growth and continual program improvement. This requires a dedicated team who are true partnership marketing subject matter experts.
The world of partnership marketing is complex and nuanced, with a broad universe of distinct and constantly evolving partner types. As this field is not yet a higher-education marketing curriculum track, skills and knowledge are often learned on the job and through trial and error. Many agencies lack the high-level expertise and experience required to effectively manage and drive a successful partnership marketing program.
At Acceleration Partners, you can be confident in the expertise of your program management team. Our client services hiring process is rigorous – with a 1% hire rate, we only hire the BEST. In addition, Acceleration Partners is the only partnership marketing agency to offer a formalized in-house training program. Before they even enter our training program, candidates are already experienced relationship managers with exceptional communication, strategy and tactical execution skills.
In fact, the average Senior Account Director at Acceleration Partners brings 7-10 years’ experience to your relationship. Your team will be ready to hit the ground running on day one, focused on designing activities and initiatives that will drive incremental growth and help your organization achieve revenue goals.
In addition, Acceleration Partners is unique in that we maintain a Publisher Development team dedicated to helping client brands strategically grow and refine their program. Our team actively nurtures a massive global network of partnerships and works to attract and recruit new partnerships. While Acceleration Partners currently maintains more than 60K click-active partnerships, our Publisher Development team continually seeks creative and non-traditional partners to help drive value for brands, as well as maintaining strong relationships with traditional affiliate partners.
Is the Partnership Marketing Agency Positioned to Effectively Help you Expand Globally?
As the world becomes an increasingly connected marketplace, many brands are looking at ways to reach new markets in other countries and regions. While this process seems straightforward, the reality is that legal, regional and market-specific differences can make or break your organization’s ability to create a successful global partnership marketing program.
Global expansion requires a significant commitment of time and budget to ensure success. If your organization plans to globally expand your partnership marketing program, it is critical to carefully consider your choice of agency.
While many agencies claim to have a global footprint, the reality consists of a much more limited scope. An agency with contracted or outsourced account teams who do not speak the local language and/or who have limited regional or cultural knowledge is far less likely to drive a successful global expansion than one with experienced regional teams already in place.
Acceleration Partners is a truly global partnership marketing agency:
- We currently manage programs in 40 countries around the globe
- Our global staff of 200+ is fluent in a collective 19 languages
- Our program management teams have existing in-country partner relationships
In addition, the creation of a global program requires an agency partner who can integrate a multitude of networks, technologies, partners and systems. Acceleration Partners not only has experienced teams in place within region, but we’ve also established relationships and deep experience with all global major affiliate networks and platforms.
Choose a Partnership Marketing Agency with a Demonstrated Ability to Deliver Better Process and Better Performance
There’s a better way to do partnership marketing. A more transparent, efficient and effective way where brands receive the collaborative, strategic program management and the support needed to remain relevant and achieve performance goals in today’s competitive market.
Is your agency not supporting you?
