Collaborative survey with Norma Watenpaugh:

So much of the discussion around digital transformation is about the customer experience. At a Tech Partner Forum a few years back, Tiffani Bova from Salesforce cited an example of how as a consumer, you might order a Starbucks, from your Tesla, through Alexa. When you drive up to pick up your coffee, it has already been made and paid for. All seamless, all automagic. What does that example say about how partnering is changing in creating these digitally enabled experiences? Obviously, it takes a fair amount of technology integration behind the scenes between the partner brands, but also an understanding of the customer experience in ordering a cup of Joe. The example also highlights the importance of building the partner ecosystem around the customer experience. A bad experience will reflect poorly on everyone.

So with that in mind, how does the partner experience translate to a compelling customer experience? A friend and force in Alliances, Norma Watenpaugh of Phoenix Consulting Group and I are teamed up to explore how partner experience impacts customer experience. We looked for the research and came up empty. It was intuitively obvious to everyone we spoke to (about twenty or so partner executives) that there had to be connection. We spoke to one company that uniquely manages their partner organization out of the Customer Success business unit. This was reflective of the high priority they place on the customer experience. This group was diligent and disciplined in measuring customer experience and had come to realize that their partners were a significant part of the experience and while they had great Net Promoter Scores…they could not distinguish how much of that was them and how much of that was attributable to partners. Nor did they know how managing the partner experience led to a better customer experience, but they were sure it did.

And so where wise men fear to tread, Norma and I are forging ahead. We are seeking to uncover what makes a great partner experience and how does that experience translate to a great customer experience.

We invite you to join in the discovery by participating in a short 5-min survey…honest…we timed it. Just click on this link:

Partner Experience Survey

Your feedback will be kept confidential and will only be used in aggregate. If you would like to receive the results of this survey, please list your email in the last text box in the survey OR send me a quick direct message.

How does the partner experience translate to a compelling customer experience?