Here’s a reality today: Rising-star companies rely on partnership automation. As sales and marketing programs cost more and deliver less, partnerships have become a vital channel for growth. In fact, some of the most forward-thinking enterprises now see partnerships as a key source of new revenue. B2C stars like Uber, Hostgator, Stitch Fix, and Casper have thrived in crowded markets and been able to compete with larger rivals by leveraging partnerships to expand into new audiences and channels. But that’s not the only commonality. These companies and many more have also deployed partnership automation to streamline how they manage their vital partner networks.
Here are three more examples:
One of the fastest growing D2C brands, Harry’s Razors calls the head of its partnerships organization its “VP of Growth.” That says a lot about how important partnerships are to its success. The company has long relied on collaboration with third parties, influencers, and retailers to promote itself and improve the customer experience. Harry’s has also invested in partnership automation to manage its partnership and influencer network. Harry’s uses automation to consistently track what percentage of its sales come from various types of marketing, manage relationships, and monitor performance.
BarkBox: 600M subscribers
BarkBox subscribers reached 600M in 2018, and partnerships have always been core to the company’s business model. For example, it partners with thousands of animal shelters across the United States and Canada to sell subscription boxes to new canine parents. But manually managing communication and logistics for thousands of independent, volunteer-run organizations clearly isn’t feasible. Nor is calculating and writing each one a check every quarter. The company has wisely automated its partner management and payouts, saving time and effort and enabling shelter partners to track the funds they’ve raised in real-time.
Ticketmaster: More than 32% growth
The place you listen to music directly connected to the place you buy tickets—seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? Until recently, the tech didn’t provide a seamless experience for this customer experience happen. By integrating Impact’s API-based tracking, Ticketmaster was able to onboard and track their strategic partnerships with video and music streaming platforms, search providers, and more. And their innovative approach to partnerships is working – to the tune of 32% YoY growth.
Partnership automation now a must-have for growth
All kinds of businesses are diving into the partnership economy and working with affiliates, influencers, and strategic B2B partners to grow and reach new audiences. But managing partnerships at scale requires efficient processes, making automation a must-have businesses who want to fully seize the opportunity.
Learn more about how your business can use partnership automation to accelerate your growth like these great companies did—download our eBook: Partnership Automation Is the Future. (Or you can jump straight to full automation by contact a growth technologist at sales@impact.com.)
