Introducing a redesigned partner program to foster an ecosystem driven by delight
In a world where fluctuating customer expectations and dynamic competitive pressures dominate the market, Freshworks, with its partner ecosystem, aims to bridge the gap between innovation and implementation while also creating an ecosystem driven by delight.
Freshworks’ Partner Program was first launched in 2013 and 9 years later, many of those original partners are still standing strong as part of this community and have led organization-wide transformations globally. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that extraordinary strides were made to keep delight flowing for customers through reselling, implementation, and building workflow capabilities.
So many years later, the Freshworks Partner Program has now grown globally to include 500+ resellers in 50+ countries, 20+ systems integrators, 350+ ISVs, and 1,100+ technology applications in the Freshworks Marketplace. Over these years, Freshworks has championed business innovations that make delight easy, fast, and smart for customers and their employees—and our partners help deliver on this promise with their prime industry expertise.
Expanding growth opportunities with this relaunch
Partnerships make our life easier. It’s not just a statement but also a fact. There is a lot of hard work that goes behind two organizations signing an agreement and growing a successful business resulting from the partnership. At Freshworks, we believe that as we grow, so should our partners. This relaunch aims at making things easier for our partner community by addressing some obvious as well as non-obvious issues.
1. Website changes
This relaunch comes with a major revamp of the partner website. We’ve moved from text-heavy web pages to ones that are more informative and carry direct call-to-action messaging. The aim here was to make the web pages look a lot more navigational-friendly for partners. As a result, all the benefits of the partner program are presented in a simple but attention-grabbing format so prospective partners can easily choose the program best suited for them. The recent changes also align with the new Freshworks brand guidelines, making the partner pages sync with other corporate web pages.
The homepage (URL) now highlights the following partner programs and their benefits: Solution Partnership including System Integrators (SIs), Technology Partnership, Freshworks for Startups, and Affiliate Partnership.
2. Highlighting the SI program
The SI program will enable partners to implement and develop applications in the CX, ITSM, and the CRM space with a special focus on:
- Delivering value and keeping the customer happy by remaining flexible and mindful of their needs.
- Owning the problem and embracing the responsibility to provide excellent service.
- Displaying proven abilities to architect and deploy Freshworks solutions in complex customer environments.
- Striving to delight and support customers beyond the initial deployment.
SI partners will also be able to find themselves in the revamped partner locator. They will also be run through a modern certification framework to build an ecosystem of capable partners who can deliver engagements, build applications, and ensure customer delight.
3. Greater differentiation between our partner tiers
Freshworks’ partner program has been built to reward partners who deliver expertly-crafted and phenomenal customer experiences to businesses. The current tiering structure has had little differentiation in benefits and requirements between the Silver, Gold, and Platinum Partners. The new tier structure introduces more compelling benefits, with associated requirements, between the tiers to allow for clearer recognition and investment in our top-tier partners. The new tiering will also provide motivation for partners to move through the tiers over time, with each tier carrying its own set of benefits.
These changes in partner tiering have also been highlighted in the revamped Partner Locator. With this launch, Freshworks’ Partner Locator has also been updated to carry all new and existing Gold and Platinum Partners who fit into the revamped tiering structure. Hereafter, customers will be able to search the locator to find the right partner for their specific needs.
Furthermore, partners falling into the Platinum Tier will also have access to a new technical support portal managed by a dedicated team to help with customer success. Dedicated in-region resources will also be provided to partners to grow our joint business through planning and quarterly reviews. They can also open up additional ways to benefit and add significant value for their customers by becoming implementation and/or developer-certified partners.
4. Simplifying our Partner Relationship Management (PRM) platform
To make delight easy for partners, the new PRM platform will combine the best of software, processes, and strategies to create an end-to-end user-friendly experience. It will give them a bird’s eye view of their business, including deal registration, pipeline, commissions, sales and marketing assets, and partner marketing funds. It will not only help us streamline processes and communication, but will also help in building and maintaining meaningful relationships with the partners.
What can partners expect from this relaunch?
Ease of partnering
By combining an easy-to-use PRM software with an easy-to-navigate website interface, Freshworks is redefining the ease of partnership by putting onboarding, enablement, pipeline tracking, and certifications under one roof. Although the partner program has tried to stay true to the mantra of ‘ease of partnership’ ever since its conception, all these enhancements will definitely prove to be a game-changer for the ecosystem.
“Our partnership with Freshworks has been extremely pleasant and allowed our organization to become more diversified in a very competitive market space. From onboarding us as a customer to execution of service engagements, the Freshworks team has solicited continuous input from us on processes and execution which is refreshing, to say the least. We are in the infancy stages of our relationship, but all indications point toward a strong and mutually respected partnership,” said Richard George, vice president of sales at Flycast Partners (North America).
Growth + Revenue
We’re making these strategic changes to our partner program to not only ensure that our end customers have better ease of access to our products but also to help grow our partners in more ways than one. We’ve redesigned the program to give partners everything they need while also unlocking extra rewards and incentives as they move through the program tiers. This way, they experience significant year-over-year growth and receive generous commissions on that growth.
“i4 Asia Incorporated has been a Freshworks Partner for over 6 years and has seen a 40% YOY increase in our growth. Being a partner has helped us delight customers like Globe Telecom, Zuellig Pharma, Lufthansa, AMA University, and many more with the help of a supportive team, flexible products, and a partner ecosystem that allows for growth via comprehensive knowledge-sharing between partners,” said Selwyn Uy, cofounder and CEO at i4 Asia Incorporated (Freshworks’ first partner in Southeast Asia).
Support
Becoming a member of the partner ecosystem and its supporting programs gives all the partners access to many valuable benefits. These include technical and business resources, such as Freshworks partner-specific content, developer resources, and training opportunities with business planning resources. Partners also benefit from increased visibility to Freshworks’ field teams and customers.
“I have been associated with Freshworks for the last 2 years. It’s always been a great experience to partner with an organization where the brand speaks for itself. The support that we have received has always been open and transparent. The focus and commitment of Freshworks’ partnerships team continues to impress us,” said Gans Subramanian, founder and managing partner at B-TRSNFRMD (North America).
We are on a mission to build a partner program for the future: a program that equally delights our partners along with our customers, globally. For more information, please visit Freshworks’ Partner Program web page.
