The Pros and Cons of the Top Partner Relationship Management Software

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Keywords to optimize the article for: partner relationship management software

Working with partners is often the best solution if you want to scale your company. Partnerships can offer various benefits that will help you achieve your business goals. However, they can present particular challenges, and managing different partnerships isn’t always easy.

This is where partner relationship management software comes in. It makes managing partnerships more streamlined and efficient so that you can build, manage, and maintain a diverse network of partners. But how do you know what PRM tool to use?

Let’s cover the pros and cons of the top 10 PRM software solutions. 

1. xAmplify

xAmplify is designed to help organizations work smarter, not harder. The PRM platform has a rich set of features to help educate, streamline communications and give partners the ability to understand everything about your company, product and services. Advanced features include a simple collateral creator for PDF and HTML materials, social syndication to amplify content with partners, and media hosting to eliminate the need for Youtube and Wistia. Ease of use for partners and companies have companies rapidly switching to xAmplify 

Pros: 

  • Advanced Analytics: Rich data on partners, engagement and content to for better decision making
  • No-code deal registration and MDF forms: Make changes directly to the forms that automatically sync with CRMs without customization
  • Engaged learnings: A built in LMS system with tracks and playbooks
  • Fast integration: Integration takes a few days compared to months for other products
  • Upgradeable: The integrated platform allows you to adopt automated co-marketing and selling features and facilitate advancements in your partner program
  • Ease of Use: One of the easiest platforms to use for partners

Cons: 

  • Currently, xAmplify doesn’t support customized reporting, but the roadmap 

2. Impartner PRM

Impartner’s Partner Relationship Management (PRM) comes with several features that focus on managing and optimizing the relationships between vendors and their channel partners. The platform encompasses numerous tools including partner onboarding, deal registration, marketing development funds (MDF), and training to streamline partner management.

Pros: 

  • Customizable Onboarding: Customized partner onboarding and management leads to significant operational efficiencies and reduced manual errors. 
  • Robust Features: Impart offers a wide range of features, provides a robust platform for partner management and reduces the need for multiple systems.

Cons:

  • Long Implementation: Several companies have reported implementing Impartner taking 6 months to a year while they paid for the platform and not actually using it.
  • Form Outages: Any changes made to the Deal Registration and MDF forms require custom updates in CRM and outages for partners. These periods causes frustration and avoidable deal conflicts

3. Zift Solutions

Zift’s solution is one of the top solutions in the market based on value and features. They offer a competitive set of features and quality support. They also give you capabilities with a no-code partner onboarding and flow.  

 Pros:

  • No code: Customization for partner onboarding 
  • Robust features: A full assortment of features for partner management
  • Support: Helpful support

Cons:

  • Expensive: Module Based Pricing adds up quickly to become price prohibitive
  • Implementation Time: like others, companies have complained about how long it takes to implement the solution
  • Deal Registration and MDF Customization: Changes to forms connected to CRMs requires developers and admins to make updates

4. Salesforce PRM

Salesforce is well known for its CRM software, but it’s also one of the more prominent PRM software providers. Their platform sells a partner management solution that is feature rich and used by enterprises in the Salesforce ecosystem but they don’t actually use it for their own partner program.  

Pros:

  • Integrated: Works well with the Salesforce ecosystem
  • Feature Rich: Various features to track sales and profits, manage communications, see performance metrics, and onboard new partners

Cons:

  • Not partner-centric: many companies complain about the complexity for partner adoption and usage
  • User-based pricing: Every user is required to have a Salesforce license
  • Customization and maintenance: Only Salesforce specialized administrators and developers can make changes
  • Limited Support: Salesforce forums or premium packages offer support

5. PartnerStack

PartnerStack is better known for referral partnerships, it has some good PRM features too. It provides a range of tools including partner onboarding, deal registration, incentive management, and automated payouts, all within an intuitive interface.

Pros:

  • Payout Management: PartnerStack simplifies the process of paying partners by automating payouts, which can significantly reduce administrative burden and ensure timely compensation for partners.
  • Flexibility: The platform provides the flexibility to manage multiple types of partners – such as affiliates, resellers, and influencers – all in one place, enabling a holistic approach to managing partnerships.
  • Support: PartnerStack is very responsive to your support questions.

Cons:

  • Limited Features: The features are limited compared to competitors — although additional functionality is planned for the future
  • Basic PRM: Not good for growing partner programs

6. Allbound

Allbound is one of the original PRMs on the market. It was built on WordPress. Allbound offers content distribution, learning and partner management, housed within a user-friendly interface.

Pros:

  • Ease of Use: Intuitive and easy to use without much training
  • Customizable Dashboard: You can put detailed info into the platform to benefit partners
  • Mobile Friendly: Provides a mobile-friendly partner portal, so it’s easy to view
  • Cost-effective: One of the more cost-effective options for software

Cons:

  • Security: Built on the WordPress platform, security issues are always a concern
  • Not a platform: Will not scale with your partner program

7. Magentrix

The platform offers customizable branding, streamlined content sharing, and the ability to configure settings without coding, all supported by a dedicated customer success team. They recently introduced AI integration with their platform. 

 Pros:

  • Offers a considerable amount of freedom when it comes to configuration and brand personalization
  • Onboarding new partners is easy and streamlined
  • New features are regularly added

Cons:

  • Integration Challenges: While Magentrix supports integrations with various other systems, companies have complained about the time it takes to get things setup
  • Deal Registration and MDF Customization: Like others on this list, changes to forms connected to CRMs requires developers and admins to make updates which takes weeks to months to make

8. Mindmatrix

Mindmatrix was one of the first PRM companies in the space and has built a feature rich product over that period of time. They are one of the few companies on this list that also have co-marketing and selling capabilities.  

Pros

  • Support: Mindmatrix’s team provide quality support
  • Easy to use: The platform is simple for new to advanced users

As with the other platforms, it does have some cons:

  • Implementation Time: like other companies on this list, Mindmatrix customers have complained about how long it takes to implement the platform
  • Deal Registration and MDF Customization: A recurring problem with companies on this list, changes to forms takes weeks to months to make
  • Data Synchronization: Integrations take time to update

The Right Partner Relationship Management Software for Your Business

It’s not easy to find the right partner relationship management software. You need to think about your business needs, partner experience, and the budget/resources you have so that you can make the right choice.

xAmplify remains one of the best comprehensive solutions on the market. The pricing will depend on your business needs, so let us know what you’re after, and we’ll be able to provide a solution that fits just right. Take a look at our PRM page to find out more about our platform today.

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