There are many SaaS Solution Partner directories out there, but for us, one of our favorites has to be HubSpot.
From the start, HubSpot has understood the value that comes with a partner ecosystem. As a technology company, you’re good at tech. Your end-customers however 9 times out of 10 will need help with strategic and executional services. This is where your partner ecosystem becomes your ally. They’re the secret to delivering exceptional end-to-end customer experience while helping you grow.
Now, let’s dive into why we love HubSpot’s partner directory so much:
Intuitive Browsing
With a prominent search bar above the page folder and visible filters, it makes it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for as soon as they land.
Search bars and filters enable visitors to curate a results set that’s bespoke to their needs. And when a visitor lands on your directory’s home page, you have to make it easy for them to navigate and find what they’re looking for before they bounce.
HubSpot has also done a really good job of aligning their Solutions Partner directory with the same layout of their App directory. Providing a unified user experience as visitors browse through both directories.
Built with SEO in mind
HubSpot ensures that their directory listings are SEO optimized, therefore making it easy for users to find partners straight from Google. The user simply searches for something like, “HubSpot Partners in London” and the google search results will show a filtered page of partners based on your search – see example below.
They understand ecosystems
With over 120,000 customers in more than 120 countries, there’s no mystery as to why HubSpot places such a strong emphasis on ‘solving for the customer’. To deliver on this promise, HubSpot understands that in order to cover numerous customer touchpoints, they need an ecosystem to deliver.
According to HubSpot 44% of companies use 4 – 5 service providers and 94% of HubSpot customers have installed at least one app.This is why they’ve created their Solutions Partner ecosystem, to connect customers with expert HubSpot service providers and their App ecosystem, to provide connections between their technology and third-party apps so that customers can connect data and improve the overall their overall customer experience.
Detailed profiles to make decision-making easier
There are a couple of things they get right on the profile page layout. Let’s start with the screenshot below:
1. Grouping of profile information
Besides having a detailed “About The Partner” section, it’s important to group other relevant information in a way that can be easily read. Key information to consider building your partner profiles should be things such as industries they serve, budgets they work with, regions they serve, where they’re located, certifications and accreditations, languages they speak, and a whole bunch more.
2. Transparent ratings and a filter for reviews
An ounce of proof is worth a ton of assertions. Transparent ratings and reviews is what will take the fear out of being first. Now, this isn’t the best for newer partners, but it’s most definitely a motivation to start climbing. You could even advise newer partners to run a campaign to all past customers asking them to leave a review on their directory. Nonetheless, the purpose of transparent ratings is to help customers with their own vetting.
HubSpot’s reviews filter makes it even easier for customers to see how skilled your partners are in specific services, industries, segments, etc. Customers want examples of work and/or social proof that partners have done this work before for someone else and it was a success.
3. Clear call-to-action
At the end of the day, the core purpose of a partner ecosystem is to help them grow through you while serving your customer’s needs. To make the directory more transactional, adding a way for customers to be able to instantly engage with your partners is key. HubSpot does this by providing a clear CTA for customers to contact the partner.
My only suggestion would be to add a more dynamic and frictionless call-to-action. An example of this could be a digital RFP form where a customer can complete a brief (which is more than just the standard contact us form) with details pertaining to their service needs and request a quote from the partner. Or embed a list of productized services that have been curated by partners directly onto their profile. This way your customers can browse not only partner profile details, but also get a good understanding of the type of services they provide and have an easy self-serve way of engaging when they are ready.
Technology companies today that understand the value of their partner ecosystem are the ones who will always win. Value to your partners is more than just being resellers of your software. Value to them is being an extension of your technology. A part of your ecosystem that provides services to your customers that in turn helps your customers grow through the use of your technology and their expertise.
To create an ecosystem for your partners and customers to engage, Morphed’s eCommerce-enabled marketplace platform enables you to easily connect your customers with your accredited partners through the sale of services all underneath your own roof.
