Last week, Proof announced the launch of a new partner program called Proof Partner Acceleration Program, aimed at enabling Digital Performance Agencies with powerful marketing optimization capabilities. Read more here.
In just a couple of days since the launch, we have received a lot of requests from potential ecosystem partners, and I wanted to take this opportunity to shed some light onto the reasons why we did it and why we chose to do it now.
The last 12 months have seen businesses needing to reinvent the way they operate. What originally looked to be a short-term glitch in the market (due to Covid-19), has now turned out to be a “new normal”. This “new normal” is very different compared to the same time last year. It is now blatantly clear that a return to a pre-covid world is no longer possible.
One corporate function that often feels the squeeze in times of uncertainty is marketing. Without being able to prove the business impact of their marketing efforts, marketers often struggle to win the battle for funding. The most recent high-profile company to slash its marketing budget is Airbnb.
Our concern goes beyond slashed budgets. New alliances and operational models are currently being forged and those who stand still or are reluctant to change will be left behind. This goes for both agencies and companies engaged in marketing.
To us at Proof, it is clear that 2021 is the year of reinvention within marketing operations, not just in large enterprises but in companies of all sizes.
Today, successful marketers need to be a lot more than traditional marketers. Marketers (and Chief Marketing Officers in particular) are expected to be capable business leaders who know how to use marketing as a vehicle for driving measurable business outcomes.
This new set of expectations requires marketers to learn how to measure and adequately prove how their marketing is impacting multiple functions (and not just marketing) at their employer, and how their investments are helping reach other key business priorities.
In this “new normal”, Digital Performance Agencies have a crucial role to play. To be relevant in this field, agencies need to be equipped with the right tools required to meet these new expectations.
The great industrialist and business magnate Henry Ford is quoted to have said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” This phrase has stood the test of time and continues to be a guiding principle in times of great upheaval.
With the launch of the Proof Partner Acceleration Program, we are combining Proof’s leading analytics capabilities with the unique skills and customer knowledge that only agencies have. By working together, we can help customers deliver better business outcomes, quicker and more profitably.
Proof BusinessGPS™ gives certified agencies the ability to have automated access to the tools needed to prove the business impact of marketing investments AND the ability to make accurate projections on the impact of marketing investments.
Overall, the Proof Certified Partner Program consists of four components.
A. Partner Readiness
Agency staff members will be trained on Proof BusinessGPS™, how the service works and how it delivers value to customers.
B. Partner Onboarding
Proof will work with certified agencies to design and implement their own instance of Proof BusinessGPS™ and enable agencies to onboard their customers.
C. Partner Sales Enablement
Proof will work with certifies agencies to ensure partner Sales- and Sales Support teams know how to successfully position, sell, and demonstrate the service to customers. This phase will include the creation of joint go-to-market plans.
D. Partner Commission Plan
Agencies who have completed all three previous steps are eligible to receive a commission on all new customer sales and renewals.
Certified agencies within Proof’s partner ecosystem will have the ability to create new types of customer deliverables and billable services, grow their business through quicker service delivery, improved scalability, and protect their business with new innovative, always-on, automated data ingestion services. In addition, certified agencies will increase their relevance towards C-level audiences.
We are experiencing a time of extraordinary changes and opportunities.
Let’s seize the moment and start building long-lasting alliances that will guide our customers to a brighter future.
For more details on Proof, read more here.