Any UCaaS business often includes different kinds of channel partners, including affiliate partners, and value-added resellers. Each partner has a big role to play in the growth of the UCaaS providers.
Modern UCaaS solutions today can onboard partners and resellers in a streamlined manner. Since they offer a diverse set of communication services from various channel partners along with a multitude of value-added services through a single platform, they simplify the communication needs of customers, strengthen the capabilities of channel partners and maximize your revenue.
5 Ways Channel Partners Can Fuel the Growth of UCaaS Providers
1. Tap Hidden or Unreachable Markets
A lot of traditional hardware or IT services companies have an existing client base in specific geographies and localities – some of which are very remote, and hard to access. If such partners get ‘ready-to-sell’ services along with the subscription management and billing platform, they can tap hidden or unreachable markets and bring in additional revenue and customers at a very low cost of acquisition.
2. Save Costs
For partners with customers in far-away locations, establishing nearby or local point-of-sales-and-service can help them save a lot of costs. This could otherwise be challenging and costly for providers to establish for every geography. A UCaaS solution would also bring down the service costs to a large extent, as channel partners will be able to take care of some customer service aspects.
3. Grow Customer Base
Although channel partners cater to a large base of customers, by bundling UCaaS services with their existing, traditional products and services at competitive rates, they can grow their customer base rapidly and improve loyalty through value-added services and discounts.
4. Deliver Innovative Services
Channel partners and resellers can add innovative services in their bundle and make the UCaaS solution more attractive (compared to their existing traditional, on-premise solutions). This can not only increase the adoption of the service offering but also build trust and loyalty.
5. Run Customized Sales Campaigns
In today’s highly competitive and demanding business environment, customization has become a pre-requisite. A one-size-fits-all approach just won’t work, and that’s where having local channel partners becomes a blessing. Channel partners can run local, specialized sales campaigns better suited for the customers they serve, improve satisfaction and bring in more revenue.
5 Ways UCaaS Providers Can Facilitate the Growth of Channel Partners
1. Build Stronger Relationships
Bad-debt and collection issues are a given in the subscription industry due to the poor connection and relationship with existing customers. However, with the help of a strong subscription management platform, the UCaaS providers can help the channel partners keep track of every payment due. The platform sends reminders with due date and amount. This can help the partners minimize bad-debt and collection issues and build stronger, long-lasting relationships with customers.
2. Automate the Settlement Process
For any subscription business, the settlement is a crucial process. Modern UCaaS solutions enable partners to automate the settlement utility and define the process with multiple settlement modes depending on who is managing the customer. Channel partners can easily access and export transactional data with a user-friendly dashboard and always stay updated.
3. Leverage the Incentive Framework
Modern UCaaS solutions have a robust incentive framework that can keep partners motivated. With countless methods of paying partners including commissions based on percentage, dollar amount, or an agreed-upon set of business rules, they offer more flexibility and keeps partners fully engaged in the sales process.
4. Manage Customers With A Self-Care Portal
Channel partners must often manage myriad customers across myriad communication needs. This is where a self-care portal comes handy. Partners can view and manage their customers, add or remove products and services, and get end-to-end insight into account balances, invoices, billing and tax documents, and more.
5. Access Key Metrics
In the subscription management business, channel partners must always be updated to keep pace with the changing business environment. Modern UCaaS solutions offer access to performance scorecards and key metrics that help in enhancing channel partners’ performance. With insight into the full spectrum of the sales landscape, partners can modify their sales tactics and ensure better efficiency.
Empower Partners for Higher Returns
The subscription management business is a complex one; with a plethora of customers, across geographies, each with a unique communication need across various channels, offering the right product or service bundle that best fits the needs is necessary.
In today’s highly complex business environment, channel partners have a big role to play in fueling the growth of UCaaS solution. By allowing partners to see several products from the catalog – with a product rate card that is tailored to each partner – a strong billing and subscription management solution can allow UCaaS providers to:
- resell products through their channel partners,
- define incentive models,
- empower partners with a self-care portal and
- implement automated solutions for billing, invoicing and end of cycle-settlement.
This results in higher returns.
Billing & Subscription Management
To learn more about a billing and subscription management platform that can help you fuel growth and generate higher returns, contact a OneBill specialist today.
