In today’s fast-paced business environment, managing partnerships effectively is more important than ever. Whether you’re a small start-up or a large corporation, the benefits of maintaining partnerships are significant—but it’s not always easy. Good partner relationship management (PRM) requires balancing multiple roles; communication, data analysis, accounting, and showcasing return on investment are just a few of those roles. The complexity of partnership management is much easier to manage with the right tools at your disposal. Here at Torchlite, our goal is to help companies leverage their partner relationships to the fullest extent and simplify the PRM process into one organized place. With this short guide, we’ll break down the importance of partnership management, highlight some partnership management best practices, and cover tools that can help you, including some solutions of our own. It’s time to shine a light on effective partnership practices. 

What Is Partnership Management?

Partnership management involves building and sustaining mutually beneficial relationships between two or more organizations. The partnership management process often includes steps like: 

• Identifying potential partners
• Setting shared goals
• Determining KPIs and metrics
• Sharing resources and materials
• Executing plans
• Tracking customer data
• Sharing results

Because partnership management requires a lot of different capabilities, businesses often struggle to keep things organized. This is compounded by the use of multiple disconnected tools—such as email, spreadsheets, and online drives—in an effort to perform all the tasks above. It can quickly become difficult to find the data you need or the resources you’ve shared between partners. But with a PRM solution like Torchlite, everything is consolidated into a single source of truth. You’ll have access to features that help you track, measure, and analyze partnership performance throughout every stage of the process. Keep in mind that while there are similarities, each partnership is unique. With our tools, you can create a customized approach that adapts to the specific needs and challenges of each partnership.

What Makes a Good Partnership Relationship?

Strong partnerships are built on communication, trust, and a shared vision—all backed up by strong data. And in the business world, it’s especially important to communicate return on investment; partners need to know why they are working with you, and internal leadership wants to clearly see the value in every business partnership. With Torchlite, you can use targeted intent data and clearly see what is working (and what is not), as well as what each specific partner is contributing. Your partnership management skills are supported with all the insights you need so that you can foster positive connections with your partners. And when your leadership asks you “why are we partnered with this organization?” you will have easy access to all the data you need.

How Do You Manage a Partner Relationship?

Partner relationship management best practices include setting clear objectives, regular communication, continual improvement, and celebrating successes. Here’s how we can help with each of these partnership management strategies:

• Set Clear Objectives | Both parties need to understand what they hope to achieve. Torchlite helps you outline and track these objectives easily. 
• Communicate Regularly | Frequent updates are vital—and so is quality of communication. With Torchlite, you’ll have a dedicated partner portal so you can keep partners informed every step of the way, with plenty of strong data points that tell the story of your partnership’s success.
• Adjust and Improve | The ideal partnership isn’t static; it grows and evolves over time. Continual monitoring and tweaking of your processes are important to maximize the ROI. Our analytics allow you to assess the effectiveness of the partnership so you can adjust and improve throughout the relationship.
• Celebrate Success | Positive reinforcement solidifies your relationships and communicates their value. Businesses not only want to see the value in working with you, they want to feel as though you value their partnership in return. You’ll be able to track and celebrate milestones efficiently with our toolset. 

What Is a Partner Relationship Management System?

A partner relationship management system is a technology platform designed to facilitate and improve interactions between a company and its partners. With Torchlite, you’ll have the partner relationship management tools you need to streamline processes when managing and evaluating relationships. From contact management to accounting and even performance tracking, you’ll have comprehensive insight into every aspect of your partnership. By using a system like Torchlite, you can simplify and streamline your workflows, as well as quickly identify opportunities for optimization. 

Torchlite: Your Partner for Partnerships

Managing partnerships requires a unique set of skills—but more importantly, those skills must be supported with the right tools. Many businesses struggle with partner management not because they lack talented staff, but because they lack the infrastructure to support their partner portfolio. Our platform was designed specifically for partnership management—essentially, our tools set you up for more successful, productive partnerships. With Torchlite, you’ll be enabled and empowered to elevate your partnership management processes. By choosing to partner with us, you’re giving your company the competitive edge in developing strong, effective partnerships. If you’re serious about leveraging your partnerships to their fullest potential, get in touch for a Torchlite demo today.