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Channel partner program

Channel partner program

[chan-l pahrt-ner proh-gram]

Noun

A business initiative that drives revenue through established distribution partnerships rather than direct sales and marketing. Channel partnership programs are common in a wide variety of industries, including software-as-a-service (SaaS). Companies love channel partnership programs because they’re often a more efficient way to drive revenue than traditional sales and marketing tactics. Since partners are tasked with finding leads, referrals, and/or sales, company employees don’t have to generate these valuable business outcomes directly themselves. They simply have to enable partners to be successful.

Channel partnership programs have many benefits. In addition to being a more efficient source of growth, partnerships often help companies access new audiences through their partners. For example, a software company may have great traction finding new customers through paid search ads. But if they partner with an agency that has a roster of clients who are not as digitally savvy (and thus may not find the software company via Google), the company can access a new audience that they previously would not have been able to reach. What’s more, agencies often have built deeply trusting relationships with their clients, so a recommendation from the agency means prospective clients will be primed to trust the software company more.

Example: Rivka drove 45% Acme Corp’s FY2022 revenue through her channel partner program.

More Partnership terms beginning with
C
Cost per click (CPC)

Noun

[kohst pur kli-ck]

Cost per click (CPC) is an advertising revenue model used by websites wherein they bill advertisers based on the number of clicks on a display ad for their site. Advertisers usually set a daily budget for cost per click. When the budget is reached, the website is removed from the ad rotation for the rest of the day.

Most websites are paired with advertisers through a third party, such as Google Ads on Google AdSense. One of the most common ways to determine cost per click is by dividing the cost of your advertising campaign by the number of clicks. It's also common to determine cost per click by bidding, wherein you'd bid a price per click and the system uses algorithms to run your ads, charging you up to your bid amount but not more.

Cost per click is also sometimes called pay per click (PPC).

Example: A website with a cost per click of 10 cents would charge an advertiser $100 for 1000 clicks.

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Customer ambassador

Noun

[cuss-toe-mur am-bass-a-der]

A customer ambassador is a satisfied customer who takes on a special role helping promote the company and its offerings to their peers. Customer ambassadors have experience with the product, believe in its value, and are willing to recommend it to others. They sometimes contribute to customer case studies, webinars, and other promotional activities for the company.

Customer ambassadors are an extremely important avenue of promotion since personal endorsements and recommendations are so highly valued in a buyer's journey. To spot customer ambassadors, look for successful, highly engaged customers who refer business to you.

Example: Kelly noticed a particular customer was the referral source for several new leads. She reached out to the customer and found they loved the product. Kelly invited the customer to participate in a webinar. Voila, a customer advocate!

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