Managed Expert Platform: The Next Evolution of Partner Directories

Sometimes, your customers are going to need expert implementations and support that your in-house team can’t provide. 

It could be a customer industry-specific need, or an entire segment of customers who are not eligible for customer support based on monthly tier. 

In these situations, brands turn to partner directories to fill in the knowledge gap. 

At its core, a partner directory is a list or marketplace of service providers, distributors, integrators, and other third-parties. These experts help your customer get the most from using your platform. 

For example, an email marketing platform could create a partner directory of marketing freelancers and agencies that specialize in email. 

By offering a broad variety of partners, directories empower your customers to find the best expert to address their specific challenges.

The Benefits of Partner Directories 

Here are a few other benefits of partner directories: 

Enhance Your Customer Experience

When managed well, partner directories bridge the knowledge gap between customers and SaaS platforms. By providing access to freelancers, agencies, or products, a directory ensures that your customer can maximize the benefits they gain from your platform. 

You retain control over the providers listed on your platform, enabling you to cultivate a pool of trusted experts. 

Provide Customers with More Diverse Expertise

Customer success teams can provide technical support, but they may not have experience with your clients’ full variety of industries and use cases. 

Directories supplement your in-house support by offering access to a diverse array of subject matter experts. With numerous providers available, your customers are more likely to find partners who can solve their unique challenges, fostering long-term use of your platform. 

Encourage Partnerships

Partner directories create a symbiotic relationship between SaaS companies and listed providers. Creating a thriving partner ecosystem leads to mutual benefits for you and your partners, deepening your partnerships with existing partners and attracting new partners. 

Promote Cross-Sells and Upsells

Depending on the business model of your directory, you can actually generate additional revenue from a well-run directory. You could receive a portion of third-party service providers’ fees, or offer your own services over time, thus contributing to revenue growth. 

Why don’t Partner Directories Work? 

Despite all of the benefits of directories, they come with a major challenge: directories can actually harm your customer experience. 

Yes, the entire point of the directory is to improve customer experience. However, directories can work against you if they aren’t implemented correctly. 

Most of your customers want the quickest, easiest solution to your problems. They don’t want to sift through hundreds of experts; speak with several of them; and then compare prices, offerings, and testimonials.

Finding a partner in a directory is like looking for a needle in a haystack. 

As such, many partner directories have low conversion rates. This ineffective experience disappoints both customers and partners, and leaves both more open to churn. 

There are a few other elements that make partner directories less effective: 

Lead Distribution

Uneven lead distribution among partners poses a challenge for directories. Often, a few select partners receive the majority of leads, while others rarely receive opportunities. This imbalance reduces partner satisfaction. 

On the other side, many partners want to work on long, high-value projects, which leaves customers who need support with one-off projects or smaller tasks in the lurch. 

Quality Control

Maintaining quality standards for directory partners is crucial, but immensely difficult. Vetting service providers consumes time and resources. 

Furthermore, ongoing quality assurance for the work that partners deliver to customers is a complex and often political process. Even with rigorous vetting, there might be a substantial variation in the quality of their work product. 

Non-Standardized Offerings and Pricing

Variability in your partners’ service offerings and pricing structures can complicate the directory customer experience. Customers struggle to select the most suitable provider at the right price, and they may give up before finding a provider. 

Additionally, the lack of oversight into partners’ offerings hampers efforts to improve customer experience and retention. 

While partner directories offer numerous advantages, addressing challenges like lead distribution, quality control, and standardization of offerings is key to success. By navigating these hurdles effectively, SaaS companies can maximize the benefits of partner directories and drive sustainable growth. 

To address these concerns and get the most out of their partner directories, companies are increasingly turning to the Managed Expert Platform. 

What is the difference between a Partner Directory and the Managed Expert Platform?

You can use a partner directory and a Managed Expert Platform (MEP) together, or use either one of them separately. That can be a bit confusing, so let’s look at the distinctions between the two. 

In contrast to a partner directory, the Managed Expert Platform provides a managed approach to customer support and service delivery. 

Rather than simply providing access to a marketplace of service providers, MEP leverages vetted Experts to deliver a consistent, high-quality customer experience.

A collective of skilled freelancers and agencies (that can include your existing partners) collaborate to deliver consistent experiences for your customers. Every part of the customer experience - from enrollment to client calls to deliverables to feedback – is managed for your business by the Expert platform. 

How The Managed Expert Platform Improves Partner Directory Performance

Simply put, the Managed Expert Platform represents a significant evolution beyond the traditional partner directory. 

Let’s explore the advantages of this innovative approach. 

Consistent, High-Quality Service

By employing vetted experts and implementing standardized service offerings, the Managed Expert Platform maintains a consistent level of quality across all your customer engagements. 

Clients can rely on top-notch support and expertise, resulting in improved outcomes and greater trust in your platform. 

Scalability and ROI

MEP combines the scalability of a directory with the ROI of the best customer experiences. 

Customer success teams come with a number of added expenses, from training to benefits to salaries - whether your customers speak with success or not. With MEP’s pay-per-use model, you gain on-demand services that reduce the costs of underutilization. 

Like directories, the Managed Expert Platform can serve tens, thousands, or hundreds of thousands of clients. However, unlike directories, the Managed Expert Program’s quality controls also operate at scale, making sure that every customer has a top-tier experience. 

Tailored Expert Matching

MEP leverages advanced AI algorithms to match customers with the best experts for their specific business needs and industry. 

This hyper-personalized approach ensures that customers receive customized solutions to their challenges, increasing their satisfaction and the long-term viability of your platform. 

Streamlined Process

MEP streamlines different parts of the customer journey, guiding users through structured processes for everything from initial assessments to ongoing support. 

By seamlessly connecting customers with the best Expert to support them at the moment they most need help, MEP maximizes directory conversion rates. 

Constant Visibility

MEP records all client calls and regularly solicits feedback from customers, providing continuous visibility into your customer experience. This transparency enables service providers and your company to make proactive adjustments and ensures that the customers’ needs are consistently met. 

Partner Directory And Managed Expert Platform: The Right Choice for Your Business? 

Combining partner directories with the Managed Expert Platform is a compelling choice for businesses that want to streamline their customer experience and offer their customers unparalleled, diverse expertise. 

Optimal Results Come From Personalized Experiences

Traditional partner directories fail when they overwhelm customers with choices. 

Instead of providing customers with a large list of service providers, MEP leverages advanced AI algorithms to match clients with the best Expert for their business needs. The streamlined, set packages reduce decision fatigue for customers and help partners create standardized experiences. 

MEP’s personalized approach ensures that your business receives third-party, trusted Expert guidance that is precisely aligned with their goals, improving their outcomes. 

Consistent Quality At Scale

One of the standout advantages of the Managed Expert Platform is its ability to deliver consistent, high-quality service. 

By vetting experts and standardizing service offerings, MEP maintains a level of excellence that traditional directories may struggle to achieve on their own, particularly at scale. 

MEP offers the perfect blend of scalability and proactive support, combining the flexibility of a third-party directory with the service of a dedicated customer success team. 

While partner directories offer a wide variety of benefits, you should consider implementing the Managed Expert Platform alongside your traditional directory. With its focus on tailored expertise, consistent quality, and scalable support, MEP elevates customer experiences, reducing churn, improving product usage, and delighting customers.