How CRM can be used to perform PRM tasks (and why it’s not a good idea)

Partner Relationship Management (PRM) is a strategy and a set of tools that help businesses manage their relationships with their channel partners, such as resellers, distributors, or agents. PRM aims to improve partner collaboration, communication, and performance, as well as to streamline the channel sales process.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy and a set of tools that help businesses manage their relationships with their customers, such as prospects, leads, or buyers. CRM aims to improve customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention, as well as to optimize the direct sales process.

Both PRM and CRM are important for any business that wants to grow its revenue and market share. However, they are not the same thing, and they require different approaches and solutions. In this article, we will explore how CRM can be used to perform some of the tasks typically associated with PRM, and why this is not always a good idea.

Using CRM for PRM tasks

Some businesses may think that they can use their existing CRM system to handle their partner relationships, without investing in a dedicated PRM solution. After all, both partners and customers are types of contacts that need to be managed and communicated with. However, this is a short-sighted and risky approach that can lead to many problems and inefficiencies.

Here are some of the tasks that CRM can be used to perform for PRM purposes, and the disadvantages of doing so:

• Partner recruitment: CRM can be used to store and track information about potential partners, such as their contact details, industry, location, or products. However, CRM does not provide the tools to automate the partner recruitment process, such as online applications, partner portals, or partner agreements. This means that partner managers have to manually handle these tasks, which can be time-consuming and error-prone.
• Partner recruitment: CRM can be used to store and track information about potential partners, such as their contact details, industry, location, or products. However, CRM does not provide the tools to automate the partner recruitment process, such as online applications, partner portals, or partner agreements. This means that partner managers have to manually handle these tasks, which can be time-consuming and error-prone.
• Partner on-boarding: CRM could theoretically be customised to store information related to a partner’s onboarding progress. However, automating on-boarding tasks and seeing a clear overview of on-boarding status across all partners would be challenging. Furthermore, on-boarding tasks could not be easily assigned to partners limiting its use to no more than a local tick list of statuses that must be manually managed by partner managers.
• Partner enablement: CRM can be used to provide partners with access to some of the sales and marketing resources that the business uses internally, such as product brochures, presentations, or campaigns. However, CRM does not provide the tools to customize and co-brand these resources for each partner, or to ensure that they are always up-to-date and compliant. This means that partner managers have to manually create and update these resources for each partner, which can be tedious and costly.
• Partner collaboration: CRM can be used to communicate with partners via email or phone calls. However, CRM does not provide the tools to facilitate real-time collaboration between partners and the business, such as on-line chat relating to a particular lead or opportunity. This means that partner managers have to rely on external tools or platforms for these purposes, which can be fragmented and insecure.
• Partner management: CRM can be used to store and track information about partner activities, such as leads, opportunities, deals, or orders. However, CRM does not provide the tools to automate and optimize the partner management process, such as lead distribution, deal registration or margins, commissions and royalties. This means that partner managers have to manually handle these tasks, which can be complex and prone to conflicts.

Why using CRM for PRM tasks is not a good idea

As we have seen, using CRM for PRM tasks can be possible, but not optimal. There are many disadvantages of this approach, such as:

• Lack of functionality: CRM systems are designed for managing customer relationships, not partner relationships. They do not have the specific features and capabilities that PRM systems have to support the channel sales process. This means that using CRM for PRM tasks can result in lower productivity, efficiency, and quality of the partner program.
• Lack of partner marketing: CRM systems are typically good at customer related marketing activities, but this does not translate to partner related marketing activities. For example, PRMs are capable of “through-partner marketing”, where the company can amplify its marketing voice through its partner network as well as co-branding each marketing message specifically for the partner.
• Lack of scalability: CRM systems are not scalable for managing large numbers of partners with different needs, preferences, and behaviors. This means that using CRM for PRM tasks can result in poor performance, reliability, and security of the partner program.
• Lack of visibility: CRM systems do not provide a comprehensive view of the partner program performance, such as partner engagement, satisfaction, and contribution. This means that using CRM for PRM tasks can result in poor decision-making, planning, and optimization of the partner program.
• Lack of differentiation: CRM systems do not provide a competitive edge for attracting and retaining the best partners in the market. This means that using CRM for PRM tasks can result in lower partner loyalty, advocacy, and retention.

Conclusion

In conclusion, CRM can be used to perform some of the tasks typically associated with PRM, but this is not a good idea. CRM systems are not designed for managing partner relationships, and they do not provide the functionality, integration, scalability, visibility, and differentiation that PRM systems do. Using CRM for PRM tasks can lead to many problems and inefficiencies that can hurt the business growth and success.

Therefore, businesses that want to leverage the power of channel sales should invest in a dedicated PRM solution that is built for managing partner relationships. PRM systems can help businesses to improve their partner collaboration, communication, and performance, as well as to streamline the channel sales process.

Does your organisation use CRM to perform PRM related tasks? Leave a comment and let me know how well this is working for you and please share any tips for how it can be achieved effectively?