Glossary

Account Mapping

Part­ner Account Map­ping, is a strate­gic process used in busi­ness-to-busi­ness part­ner­ships where sales teams from two…

Affiliate

Affil­i­ates pro­mote the offer­ings of a com­pa­ny and earn­ing rev­enue through com­mis­sion based agree­ments. These…

Affiliate Marketing

Affil­i­ate mar­ket­ing is a type of per­for­mance-based mar­ket­ing where a busi­ness rewards one or more affil­i­ates for each…

Agent

Agents rep­re­sent a com­pa­ny and its prod­ucts or ser­vices towards poten­tial cus­tomers. They work on a com­mis­sion basis…

Alliance

An Alliance is rela­tion­ship among peo­ple, groups, or states that have joined togeth­er for mutu­al ben­e­fit or to achieve…

Angel Investor

Angel Investor is an indi­vid­ual who pro­vides cap­i­tal for a busi­ness start-up, usu­al­ly in exchange for con­vert­ible debt…

Business ecosystem

The busi­ness ecosys­tem is a net­work of com­pa­nies and orga­ni­za­tions that are con­nect­ed and inter­act with one anoth­er in…

Capital-efficient growth (CEG)

CEG is a busi­ness growth strat­e­gy that aims to make effi­cient use of finan­cial resources. This involves leveraging…

Channel partner

Chan­nel part­ners are com­pa­nies that refer, co-sell, resell or dis­trib­ute the prod­ucts or ser­vices of anoth­er company.…

Co-branding

Co-brand­ing is a part­ner­ship between two or more com­pa­nies in which they col­lab­o­rate on brand­ing efforts in order to…

Co-creation

Co-cre­ation is a col­lab­o­ra­tive process in which two or more com­pa­nies or indi­vid­u­als work togeth­er to cre­ate something…

Co-development

Co-devel­op­ment refers to the prac­tice of two or more com­pa­nies work­ing togeth­er to devel­op new prod­ucts or services.…

Co-innovating

Co-inno­vat­ing refers to the prac­tice of two or more com­pa­nies work­ing togeth­er to devel­op new prod­ucts, ser­vices, or…

Co-investment

Co-invest­ment refers to the prac­tice of two or more com­pa­nies or indi­vid­u­als invest­ing togeth­er in a project or…

Co-licensing

Co-licens­ing refers to the prac­tice of two or more com­pa­nies or indi­vid­u­als shar­ing the rights to use a patented…

Co-marketing

Co-mar­ket­ing is a part­ner­ship between two or more com­pa­nies in which they col­lab­o­rate on mar­ket­ing activ­i­ties in order…

Co-selling

Co-sell­ing refers to the prac­tice of two or more com­pa­nies work­ing togeth­er to sell their prod­ucts or ser­vices to a…

Collaborative working

Col­lab­o­ra­tive work­ing is a process in which indi­vid­u­als, teams, or orga­ni­za­tions work togeth­er to achieve common…

Commission-based pricing

Com­mis­sion based-pric­ing means, part­ners receive a per­cent­age of the rev­enue gen­er­at­ed from sales of the company’s…

Community-led growth (CLG)

Com­mu­ni­ty-led Growth (CLG) refers to a growth strat­e­gy that depends on an active and sup­port­ive com­mu­ni­ty. It is a…

Competitive Advantage

Com­pet­i­tive Advan­tage is a con­di­tion or cir­cum­stance that puts a com­pa­ny in a favor­able or supe­ri­or busi­ness position.

Consortium

Con­sor­tium is an asso­ci­a­tion of two or more indi­vid­u­als, com­pa­nies, orga­ni­za­tions or gov­ern­ments (or any combination…

Consultant

Con­sul­tants pro­vide expert advice and guid­ance to busi­ness­es to help them solve spe­cif­ic prob­lems or achieve certain…

Coopetition

Coope­ti­tion, a blend of “coop­er­a­tion” and “com­pe­ti­tion,” is a strate­gic busi­ness approach where com­pa­nies, usually…

Cross-Promotion

Cross-Pro­mo­tion is the prac­tice of pro­mot­ing anoth­er prod­uct or ser­vice to one’s customers.

Customer relationship

Cus­tomer rela­tion­ship is a busi­ness rela­tion­ship in which one busi­ness (the sell­er) pro­vides goods or ser­vices to…

Deal registration

Deal reg­is­tra­tion is a process to track and man­age sales and part­ner leads and oppor­tu­ni­ties. It involves a sales…

Distribution Channel

Dis­tri­b­u­tion chan­nel is a chain of busi­ness­es or inter­me­di­aries through which a good or ser­vice pass­es until it…

Distributor

Dis­trib­u­tors pur­chase prod­ucts or ser­vices from a com­pa­ny and then sell them to resellers or oth­er chan­nel partners…

Ecosystem

An ecosys­tems is a com­plex net­work of inter­con­nect­ed indi­vid­u­als, orga­ni­za­tions, and resources that inter­act and…

Ecosystem Qualified Lead (EQL)

Ecosys­tem Qual­i­fied Leads (EQLs) are leads or poten­tial cus­tomers that have been iden­ti­fied as a good fit for a…

Ecosystem-led growth (ELG)

Ecosys­tem-Led Growth (ELG) is a strat­e­gy that engages a brand’s net­work of part­ners to increase sales, awareness,…

Exclusivity (de facto)

De Fac­to Exclu­siv­i­ty refers to an exclu­sive sit­u­a­tion that exists in prac­tice, even though it may not be for­mal­ly or…

Exclusivity (de jure)

De jure exclu­siv­i­ty refers to an exclu­sive sit­u­a­tion that exists as a result of a for­mal, legal, or contractual…

Executive sponsorship

Exec­u­tive spon­sor­ship refers to the active involve­ment and sup­port of high-lev­el exec­u­tives or senior man­age­ment in a…

Flat fee pricing

Flat fee pric­ing means, part­ners pay a fixed fee to access the com­pa­ny’s prod­ucts or ser­vices. This fee may be based…

Franchise

Fran­chis­es are busi­ness­es that are grant­ed the right to use a com­pa­ny’s brand and busi­ness mod­el in exchange for a…

Franchising

In a fran­chis­ing rela­tion­ship, one busi­ness (the fran­chisor) allows anoth­er busi­ness (the fran­chisee) to use its…

Hybrid pricing

Hybrid pric­ing means, part­ners pay for the com­pa­ny’s prod­ucts or ser­vices using a com­bi­na­tion of two or more pricing…

Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Ide­al Cus­tomer Pro­file (ICP) is a detailed descrip­tion of a com­pa­ny’s ide­al cus­tomer, based on fac­tors such as…

Ideal Partner Profile (IPP)

Ide­al Part­ner Pro­file (IPP) is sim­i­lar to an ICP, but describes the char­ac­ter­is­tics of a com­pa­ny’s ide­al part­ner or…

ISO 44001

ISO 44001 inter­na­tion­al stan­dard that sets out require­ments for effec­tive devel­op­ment and man­age­ment of collaborative…

Joint ventures

Joint ven­tures are busi­ness rela­tion­ships in which two or more busi­ness­es come togeth­er to cre­ate a new busi­ness or…

Lagging indicator

A lag­ging indi­ca­tor is a mea­sur­able fac­tor that reflects the his­tor­i­cal per­for­mance or out­comes of an orga­ni­za­tion or…

Leading indicator

A lead­ing indi­ca­tor is a mea­sur­able fac­tor that tends to change before the broad­er econ­o­my or project performance…

Licensing

In a licens­ing rela­tion­ship, one busi­ness (the licen­sor) allows anoth­er busi­ness (the licensee) to use its…

Managed service provider (MSP)

MSPs pro­vide ongo­ing sup­port and man­age­ment for IT sys­tems, includ­ing soft­ware and hard­ware. They often work with…

Marketing partner

Mar­ket­ing part­ners are com­pa­nies that help anoth­er com­pa­ny mar­ket its prod­ucts or ser­vices. This might involve…

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

Mar­ket­ing Qual­i­fied Leads (MQLs) are leads that have demon­strat­ed an inter­est in a com­pa­ny’s prod­ucts or ser­vices and…

Network Effect

Net­work Effect is a phe­nom­e­non where­by increased num­bers of peo­ple or par­tic­i­pants improve the val­ue of a good or…

Operational fit

The extent to which the dai­ly busi­ness prac­tices and poli­cies of part­ner­ship part­ners align, the effi­cien­cy of the…

Organizational alignment

Orga­ni­za­tion­al align­ment is a com­pa­ny-wide acknowl­edge­ment of the part­ner­ship’s vision and val­ue that tran­scends the…

Outsourcing

Out­sourc­ing is a prac­tice of hir­ing a par­ty out­side a com­pa­ny to per­form ser­vices and cre­ate goods that were…

Partner account management

Part­ner account man­age­ment refers to the process of man­ag­ing and main­tain­ing rela­tion­ships with a com­pa­ny’s partners…

Partner category

Part­ner cat­e­gories are used to group part­ners with sim­i­lar char­ac­ter­is­tics togeth­er. For exam­ple, resellers,…

Partner contracts and agreements

Con­tracts or agree­ments in place with part­ners define the terms and con­di­tions of the part­ner­ship, includ­ing the…

Partner ecosystem

The part­ner ecosys­tem is a net­work of com­pa­nies that have a col­lab­o­ra­tive busi­ness rela­tion­ships in order to offer a…

Partner Ecosystem Platform (PEP)

Part­ner Ecosys­tem Plat­form (PEP) is a dig­i­tal plat­form or tool that is used by a com­pa­ny to man­age and facil­i­tate its…

Partner enablement

Part­ner pro­grams may include enable­ment resources and sup­port to help part­ners get up to speed with the company’s…

Partner experience

Part­ner Expe­ri­ence (PX) describes the gen­er­al impres­sion, lev­el of sat­is­fac­tion, and engage­ment that part­ners have of…

Partner loyalty program

Loy­al­ty pro­grams reward part­ners for their lev­el of engage­ment and com­mit­ment to the com­pa­ny. This may include rewards…

Partner Management Software (PMS)

Part­ner man­age­ment soft­ware is a type of soft­ware that helps busi­ness­es man­age their rela­tion­ships with their…

Partner manager

A part­ner man­ag­er is a pro­fes­sion­al who is respon­si­ble for man­ag­ing rela­tion­ships with a com­pa­ny’s part­ners, such as…

Partner marketing

Part­ner mar­ket­ing refers to the mar­ket­ing activ­i­ties that a com­pa­ny engages in with its part­ners or affil­i­ates. This…

Partner marketing support

Com­pa­nies may offer part­ners sup­port to help them mar­ket and pro­mote the com­pa­ny’s prod­ucts or ser­vices. This may…

Partner Pages

Part­ner Pages are web pages ded­i­cat­ed to show­cas­ing a com­pa­ny’s part­ners and their offerings.

Partner portal

Part­ner por­tal are web-based por­tals that pro­vides part­ners with resources and tools relat­ed to their part­ner­ship with…

Partner program

A part­ner pro­gram facil­i­tates the col­lab­o­ra­tion between two or more com­pa­nies that may include ele­ments such as…

Partner recruiting

Part­ner recruit­ing refers to the process of iden­ti­fy­ing and recruit­ing new part­ners or affil­i­ates for a com­pa­ny. This…

Partner recruitment manager

A part­ner recruit­ment man­ag­er is a pro­fes­sion­al who is respon­si­ble for iden­ti­fy­ing and recruit­ing new part­ners for a…

Partner relationship

Part­ner rela­tion­ship is a busi­ness rela­tion­ship in which two or more busi­ness­es work togeth­er on a long-term basis to…

Partner resources

Com­pa­nies often pro­vide part­ners with access to a range of resources, such as mar­ket­ing mate­ri­als, train­ing programs,…

Partner sales

Part­ner sales refers to the process of sell­ing a com­pa­ny’s prod­ucts or ser­vices through its part­ners or affiliates.…

Partner sales support

Com­pa­nies may pro­vide part­ners with sup­port to help them close deals and dri­ve rev­enue. This may include access to…

Partner success

Part­ner suc­cess refers to the extent to which a com­pa­ny’s part­ners or affil­i­ates are suc­cess­ful in achiev­ing their…

Partner success manager

A part­ner suc­cess man­ag­er is a pro­fes­sion­al who is respon­si­ble for help­ing a com­pa­ny’s part­ners to achieve suc­cess by…

Partner Tier Development

Part­ner Tier Devel­op­ment is the process of cre­at­ing dif­fer­ent lev­els or tiers with­in a part­ner pro­gram, often based on…

Partner tiers

Part­ner pro­grams often include dif­fer­ent tiers or lev­els of part­ner­ship, each with its own set of ben­e­fits and…

Partner type

Part­ner type refers to the type of busi­ness that the part­ner com­pa­ny is involved in and deter­mines their role in the…

Partnerships

Part­ner­ships refer to any for­mal or infor­mal rela­tion­ship between two or more com­pa­nies that involves coop­er­a­tion and…

Product partner

Prod­uct part­ners are com­pa­nies that inte­grate its prod­ucts or ser­vices with those of a SaaS com­pa­ny in order to offer…

Product vs. Technology partner

A prod­uct part­ner is a com­pa­ny or cat­e­go­ry of part­ner that inte­grate prod­ucts or ser­vices with those of another…

Referral partner

Refer­ral part­ners refer poten­tial cus­tomers to a com­pa­ny in exchange for a com­mis­sion or oth­er form of compensation.…

Referral Program

Part­ner refer­ral pro­grams are pro­grams offered by a com­pa­ny that rewards part­ners for refer­ring poten­tial cus­tomers to…

Reseller

Resellers pur­chase prod­ucts or ser­vices from a com­pa­ny and then sell them to their own cus­tomers. They may offer…

Reseller pricing

Reseller pric­ing means, part­ners pur­chase the com­pa­ny’s prod­ucts or ser­vices at a dis­count­ed price and resell them to…

Reseller Program

Part­ner reseller pro­grams are frame­work con­di­tions offered by a com­pa­ny that allows part­ners, such as resellers or…

Scope of partnership initiative

The range of activ­i­ties and advan­tages a part­ner­ship aims to pro­vide. The scope can be deter­mined by the prod­ucts and…

Service partner

Ser­vice part­ners are a cat­e­go­ry of part­ners that pro­vide adher­ent ser­vices for the prod­ucts or ser­vices of another…

Service provider

In con­trast to a ser­vice part­ner a ser­vice provider gen­er­al­ly oper­ates on a trans­ac­tion­al basis. They offer a service…

Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM)

Ser­vice­able Obtain­able Mar­ket, also known as share of the mar­ket, is a real­is­tic rev­enue oppor­tu­ni­ty that a company…

Stakeholder (external)

An exter­nal stake­hold­er is an indi­vid­ual or group out­side an orga­ni­za­tion that has an inter­est in or can be affected…

Stakeholder (internal)

An inter­nal stake­hold­er is an indi­vid­ual or group with­in an orga­ni­za­tion that has a direct inter­est or involve­ment in…

Stakeholder alignment

Stake­hold­er align­ment is the the con­di­tion or process of achiev­ing a shared vision, goals, and oper­a­tional consensus…

Strategic alignment

The har­mo­niza­tion of cor­po­rate strat­e­gy and part­ner­ship strat­e­gy, both inter­nal­ly and poten­tial­ly with joint customers…

Strategic alliance

Strate­gic alliances are part­ner­ships between two or more busi­ness­es that is formed to achieve a spe­cif­ic goal or…

Strategic fit

The extent to which part­ner­ship part­ners are in sync to achieve the long-term objec­tives of the part­ner­ship or create…

Strategic partner

Strate­gic part­ners work close­ly with a com­pa­ny to devel­op and imple­ment joint ini­tia­tives, such as mar­ket­ing campaigns…

Subscription pricing

Sub­scrip­tion pric­ing means, part­ners pay a recur­ring fee to access the com­pa­ny’s prod­ucts or ser­vices. The fee may be…

Supplier relationship

A sup­pli­er rela­tion­ship is a trans­ac­tion­al busi­ness rela­tion­ship in which one busi­ness (the sup­pli­er) pro­vides goods…

System integrator (SI)

Sys­tem Inte­gra­tors (SIs) are com­pa­nies that pro­vide con­sult­ing and inte­gra­tion ser­vices to help busi­ness­es implement…

Technology partner

Tech­nol­o­gy part­ners are com­pa­nies that pro­vide prod­ucts or ser­vices that com­ple­ment or enhance the technology…

Total Addressable Market (TAM)

The total address­able mar­ket refers to the com­plete rev­enue oppor­tu­ni­ty avail­able for a spe­cif­ic prod­uct or service.…

Usage-based pricing

Usage-based pric­ing means, part­ners pay for the com­pa­ny’s prod­ucts or ser­vices based on the amount of usage or…

Value-added distributor (VAD)

Val­ue added dis­trib­u­tors extend their ser­vices beyond sim­ple prod­uct dis­tri­b­u­tion by pro­vid­ing an array of…

Value-added reseller (VAR)

VARs pur­chase prod­ucts or ser­vices from a com­pa­ny and then cus­tomize them for spe­cif­ic cus­tomer needs. This might…

Value-based pricing

Val­ue-based pric­ing means, part­ners pay for the com­pa­ny’s prod­ucts or ser­vices based on the val­ue they receive. This…

White label

White label prod­ucts are prod­ucts that are pro­duced by one com­pa­ny and then sold under the brand of anoth­er company.…

White label pricing

White label pric­ing means, part­ners pur­chase the com­pa­ny’s prod­ucts or ser­vices at a dis­count­ed price and rebrand them…