Qualtrics reveals its new partner program, featuring two tracks and four tiers

The experience management company wants to simplify the way their partners work with them.

Experience platform Qualtrics has officially unveiled its new partner program, after scrapping the older iteration in January earlier this year.

The company is simplifying the way partners work with them, they want to make it easier for organisations to find the best partners for their specific needs.

The new partner program features two tracks and a four-tiered reward system.

Sean Holcombe, chief partner officer at Qualtrics told CRN Australia these changes will allow their partners to capitalise on the growing demand for Qualtrics and build healthy, sustainable, and profitable businesses with the brand.

“Over the last 12 months in Australia, we've seen a lot of companies start to want to grow with us at a faster clip than ever before in this way,” he said.

“This is a huge opportunity for our partners and customers, and we are committed to investing in the local ecosystem to build capabilities, grow the category, and accelerate impact.”

Holcombe explained as part of the new program there was a set of criteria they needed to get right.

This included aligning the right behavioural incentives, metrics, investments, and opportunities to build better go to market machines with their partners.

“This focus shows up in the new standardised tracks and tiers,” he said.

New tiers and tracks

Qualtrics has introduced a new standardised tiering system based on how they help partners build Qualtrics capabilities, grow and mature the market, and recognise partner contributions.

They are platinum, gold, silver and member. Holcombe breaks down the new tracks and tiers in the program.

“We’ve established two clear tracks to align with partners’ strengths, simplify how partners work with us, make it easier for organisations to find the support they need, and accelerate innovation and business impact,” he said.

“The new tiering model —platinum, gold, silver, and member— is based on how we help partners build Qualtrics capabilities, grow and mature the market, and recognise partner contributions.”

The platinum tier recognises advanced knowledge of the brand whereas on the other end, the member tier is for those partners in the initial phase of their Qualtrics education.

To ensure partners can deliver value that aligns with their expertise, Qualtrics will offer two distinct tracks: consulting and platform.

The QPN consulting track is available to organisations that offer advisory, systems design, solution integration, implementation, and/or ongoing services to customers.

Partners that participate in this track go-to-market and offer services that range from delivering strategic business consulting, systems design, solution integration, and product implementation.

The QPN platform track is available to organisations that build commercially valuable offerings on the Qualtrics Developer Platform (QDP). Partners that participate in this track may include ISVs and consulting partners.

The partner program rollout is happening in phases, with the consulting track open to organisations now but the platform track being released next year.

Holcombe explained why they made this decision with the tracks.

“As we’re making a number of changes to our partner program, we intentionally made the decision to take a phased approach to ensure we get them right without causing disruption for our partners and customers,” he said.

“We recognise the critical, long-term importance of excelling in the platform track and are committed to applying the same thought and intentionality as we did with the development of the consulting track.

“Qualtrics Partner Network (QPN) was founded on advisory and delivery services, establishing deep expertise within our partner network. Given our history, the majority of our partners fit under the consulting, so we focused on this track first.”

Partners opinions

Brian Stucki, COO at Qualtrics told CRN Australia at X4 earlier this year, that their partners said their program was “not market, not standard, hard to understand and frustrating to them”.

To rectify this, Holcombe went to the partners to build out the new program.

"As we’ve made changes to the program based on this feedback we’ve continued to get their thoughts, which has allowed us to develop a best-in-class partner program that empowers them to build healthy, sustainable, and profitable businesses with Qualtrics,” he said.

“As a company that champions the power of listening, we are regularly asking for partner feedback and fully committed to acting on it - and the response from our partners including EY, Kantar, Act XM and many more has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Antonia Calvo, managing director, Act XM commented on the new partner program.

“Changes in the Qualtrics Partner Network will make it faster and easier for companies to get the expert support and advice they need to drive success,” she said.

“Act XM is a longstanding Qualtrics partner, and the combination of Act XM’s expertise in service transformation allied to Qualtrics’ leading experience management platform gives clients the ability to deliver sustained business success through great experiences.”

Holcombe expressed his appreciation for the Australian partner ecosystem.

“In Australia we are seeing great interest from partners who want to scale their business with Qualtrics - especially with our omnichannel and AI capabilities,” he said.

“Australia is one of the fastest growing markets for us in the region, and by combining the expertise of our partners with capabilities, innovation, and support from Qualtrics we’re set to see rapid growth and impact across the country.”