In a recent Ecosystem Aces podcast, Chip Rodgers, Chief Partner Officer at WorkSpan, sat down with Chris Badger, now Head of Technology Partnerships at Kyriba (formerly Senior Director of Strategic Technology Partnerships at Anaplan). The conversation explored how partnerships are evolving beyond traditional reseller models and why understanding and communicating the financial value of partnerships is critical for driving organizational alignment and success.
Chris shared deep insights from his tenure at Anaplan and his broader career, shedding light on the importance of “partner unit economics” — metrics that showcase the holistic value partnerships bring to customer success, lifetime value, and overall organizational efficiency. Below are the key takeaways from their engaging discussion.
Key Takeaways
1. Evolving Role of Partnerships
• Partnerships have shifted from purely revenue-driven reseller models to ecosystem-driven collaborations. Today, companies leverage platforms to build deeply integrated ecosystems with independent software vendors (ISVs) and hyperscalers, expanding the impact of partnerships across the customer lifecycle.
• These integrations enhance customer retention, drive adoption, and increase lifetime value — moving partnerships from being seen as revenue drivers to critical components of a business’s holistic success.
2. Aligning Metrics Across the Organization
• Chris emphasized the need for partnerships to speak the “language” of different C-suite leaders by aligning partnership value to their priorities. For instance:
• Chief Revenue Officer (CRO): Focus on sales efficiency metrics like win rates, shorter sales cycles, and larger deal sizes.
• Chief Marketing Officer (CMO): Highlight lower customer acquisition costs and higher ROI from joint campaigns.
• Chief Customer Officer (CCO): Showcase how partner-attached customers have lower churn and higher net retention rates.
• Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Provide data on how partnerships contribute to customer lifetime value and overall company efficiency.
3. The Importance of Integrations
• Chris shared a compelling case study from Anaplan, where customers using three or more partner integrations had three times higher revenue run rates compared to those without integrations. This stickiness is driven by higher switching costs and the deep embedding of partners into customer workflows.
• Such metrics demonstrate the long-term financial and operational benefits of partnerships, reinforcing their strategic importance to the business.
4. Best Practices for Driving Visibility and Action
• Chris outlined a phased approach to implementing and tracking partner metrics:
• Crawl: Start with sales efficiency data by adding partner attribution to CRM systems like Salesforce or HubSpot. Measure win rates, deal sizes, and sales cycles.
• Walk: Extend tracking to marketing metrics using tools like Marketo or other marketing resource management systems. Evaluate ROI on joint campaigns and MDF spending.
• Run: Analyze customer lifetime value and adoption metrics by leveraging data warehouses or customer experience tools like Gainsight.
• This structured approach ensures cross-functional alignment and helps build a compelling case for partnership investments.
Final Thoughts
Chris Badger’s conversation with Chip Rodgers underscored the critical role of partnerships in driving business growth and efficiency. By focusing on partner unit economics, companies can better articulate the value of their ecosystem investments, align with organizational goals, and gain buy-in from stakeholders across the board.
The podcast is a must-listen for partner leaders aiming to elevate their strategy and communicate the transformative impact of partnerships. As Chris aptly noted, “With the right metrics, partnerships can move from being a hidden part of the company to a key driver of success.”
Listen to the full episode on the Ecosystem Aces podcast for more actionable insights from Chris Badger!
Chip is passionate about building strong communities and ecosystems around enterprises to build excitement for the category, deliver value for customers, and grow the business. Prior to WorkSpan, Chip was with SAP for over 13 years, most recently growing the SAP Community Network to over 2 million engaged customers, partners, and developers. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago and an engineering degree from Northwestern.
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