Partner-to-Market: When to Partner & Why

TL;DR

• The way B2B SaaS companies use partnerships is changing big time.
• They impact key areas like customer value, acquisition costs, market entry speed and innovation, and risk.
• The Growth stage determines which partnerships make sense.
• The bowtie model reveals how partnerships create value across the entire customer journey - from acquisition through retention and growth.
• Free Download: Partnership Impact Calculator (exclusive for subscribers) 👇

Here's what I keep hearing in my talks with SaaS founders and GTM leaders:

"We know partnerships matter. We've got a list of partners. But how do they actually help us grow?"

Sound familiar? You're not alone. Even companies with solid partner programs often struggle to nail down their real impact.

"We just signed ten new partners!"

"Great... but what do they actually do for your business?"

Teams celebrate new partnerships, but struggle to show their real impact on growth. They know partnerships matter - everyone says so. But turning partner logos into actual business value? That's the hard part.

Let's be clear about which partnerships work at your growth stage, how to measure their real impact, and where they fit in your customer journey.

Despite partnerships being widely recognized as valuable in B2B SaaS, there's still confusion about what partnerships really mean and how they fit into modern business growth strategies.

A fundamental shift is happening in how we understand partnerships' role in B2B SaaS. While traditionally viewed primarily as revenue generators, modern partnerships contribute across four critical areas:

1. They lift Customer Lifetime Value by creating more sticky, valuable solutions.
2. They reduce Customer Acquisition Costs through shared marketing and sales efforts.
3. They speed up your time to market and boost innovation.
4. They help reduce business risks through diversification.

What's interesting is how these partnership impacts line up with what Winning by Design points out as the core goals of any Go-To-Market team: driving revenue growth, optimizing operational costs, and improving product quality (see Book Prologue: Revenue Architecture)

This suggest partnerships evolve from being seen as a supporting function to becoming an integral part of the overall go-to-market strategy, from product development to customer success. Modern B2B companies will embed partnership thinking into every aspect of their go-to-market motion.

To understand how partnerships can drive your business growth, we need to look at two key questions:

1. When do you need which category of partnerships?
2. What exactly do these partnerships do for your business?

Let's dive into the first question, as it's crucial for where you put your resources.

When do you need which category of partnerships?

As a founder or GTM leader, you know resources are precious. Your growth stage largely determines which partnerships will give you the best return right now.

The illustration below shows the typical partnership focus areas across different growth stages.

The matrix shows how partnership priorities shift as companies grow from Seed to Post-IPO stage. While larger companies can engage across all partnership types, early-stage companies need to focus their limited resources on partnerships that deliver the impact required.

Seed Stage

When you're just starting out with your product vision, every partnership needs to prove its worth fast. Focus on Product Partners who can provide the specific integrations your early customers are asking for. These should be features that help you nail your product-market fit. Build relationships with Marketing Partners and get involved in early adopter communities for feedback. Don't get caught up in complex Channel or Service Partner programs yet - they'll just drain your time when you need to focus on getting your product right.

Startup Stage

Now you're getting your first real market validation and paying customers. It's time to carefully pick Product Partners who can make your core offering stronger. Look for Marketing Partners who can help you reach more customers. You might want to test simple Channel Partner programs, but remember - just offering commission isn't enough. You need to create real value for partners. Consider Service Partners to fill gaps in what you can deliver. The best partnerships at this stage often come from companies facing similar challenges who want to work together on marketing and product initiatives. Stay away from exclusive deals with big enterprises unless you're aiming for an early exit.

ScaleUp Stage

Your business model is working, and growth is happening. Now you can start building systematic programs across all partnership types. Think about Service Partners for certified implementation, strategic Product Partners for deeper integrations, Channel Partners for market expansion, and Marketing Partners for structured co-marketing programs. You're moving from taking opportunities as they come to being strategic about partnerships.

GrownUp Stage

Your business model is solid, and smart scaling is the game. All partner types become important now, whether you serve enterprise clients or SMBs. Channel Partners help you expand to new places, Product Partners deepen your technical integrations, Service Partners make sure you can deliver consistently at scale, and Marketing Partners drive strategic growth initiatives. It's time to build mature partner programs that match your market.

Post-IPO Stage

You've built something big, and your partner ecosystem helps you innovate and defend your market position. Your Channel Partners work in sophisticated multi-tier programs, Product Partners drive innovation through platform integrations, Service Partners run global implementation networks, and Marketing Partners engage in strategic alliances. Your partner ecosystem has become a key advantage over competitors.

📈 Your partnerships should evolve as you grow - what worked last year might not be what you need now.

What exactly do these partnerships do for your business?

The bowtie model perfectly illustrates how partnerships impact your entire customer journey. This model, introduced by Winning by Design for B2B businesses, goes beyond the traditional sales funnel to show the complete picture of how modern SaaS companies create sustainable growth.

As shown in the model above, the customer journey consists of seven critical stages:

1. Awareness - where prospects first discover your solution
2. Education - where they learn about solving their problems
3. Selection - where they evaluate options
4. Mutual Commit - the crucial purchase decision
5. Onboarding - getting started with your solution
6. Adoption - making your solution part of their workflow
7. Expansion - growing the relationship

Why the Bowtie Model Matters

The genius of the bowtie model is how it reveals that customer acquisition (left side) is only half the story. The traditional sales and marketing funnel ends exactly where the real value in SaaS begins - at the customer relationship. The right side of the bowtie shows what happens after the purchase, where retention and expansion drive recurring revenue.

Here's a real example: A typical SaaS business spends $10,000 to acquire a customer who pays $1,000 per month. Industry standards suggest aiming for a lifetime value at least three times the acquisition cost (LTV:CAC ratio of 3:1 or better). If that customer churns after just 12 months ($12,000 lifetime value), the business barely breaks even on acquisition costs. But if they stay for 36 months and expand their usage by 20% annually, the LTV jumps to over $40,000, making that initial $10,000 investment highly profitable. That's why looking beyond the traditional funnel matters so much - the right side of the bowtie is where profitability happens.

We need to look at the entire customer journey to see how partnerships create real value.

The bowtie model shows us three key zones where partnerships make a difference:

1. customer acquisition on the left,
2. the purchase decision in the middle,
3. and customer growth on the right.

Now, let's look at how different partner categories create value across this customer journey:

This visualization shows how each partner category impacts specific stages of the customer journey. And it reveals the overlapping impact zones. No partner category operates in isolation - they create a web of value that supports your customers throughout their journey.

Left Side: Accelerating Customer Acquisition (Marketing & Sales)

When you're trying to find and win new customers, different categories and types of partners play distinct but connected roles. Marketing Partners become your amplifiers. When you run a joint webinar or create content together, you're not just sharing costs - you're borrowing each other's credibility. You get to talk to people who already trust your partner.

Channel Partners bring something different to the table. They come with relationships and market knowledge that would take you years to build on your own. I've entered new markets in a few months instead of years this way.

Product Partners create their own kind of pull through technical integration. When customers find you through a marketplace or integration announcement, they're already halfway convinced.

Center: Transforming the Purchase Decision (Commit)

At the moment of truth - when customers decide to buy - partnerships can fundamentally change the dynamics of the purchase decision. This is where trust and validation become critical.

Channel Partners don't just influence deals - they can completely transform the sales cycle through their existing relationships. Service Partners remove implementation concerns by providing local expertise and support assurance. Product Partners strengthen your value proposition through integrated solutions that solve broader customer problems.

Right Side: Driving Sustainable Growth (Customer Success)

This is where partnerships prove their worth in a recurring revenue business. It's where your initial investment in getting a customer turns into long-term profit through successful onboarding, consistent value, and account growth.

Product Partners really shine here - each integration makes your product more valuable and harder to replace. We often see customers who started with basic features expand significantly once they discover integrated workflows. Service Partners become crucial for customer success at scale, providing the local support and training that you couldn't deliver everywhere on your own. Channel Partners evolve from sales agents to trusted advisors, regularly reviewing customer needs and finding growth opportunities.

Building a Real Partner Ecosystem

The magic happens when these partnerships start working together across the whole customer journey. A Product Partner might start as a technical integration but then become a great source of referrals.

A Channel Partner who helps you enter a market might become crucial for customer success and growth. This connected impact across all three zones of the bowtie turns individual partnerships into a true ecosystem that drives sustainable growth.

The Future of Partner-to-Market

What we're seeing is more than just another way to generate revenue. It's a fundamental shift in how modern B2B SaaS companies grow and scale. When you choose the right partnerships for your stage and understand their impact across the entire customer journey, you create a powerful foundation for growth.

What's most exciting is how this changes the way we build companies. Just like customer success became everyone's job rather than one department's responsibility, partnership thinking is becoming part of how successful companies operate. It affects product decisions, go-to-market strategies, and company culture.

Looking ahead, this trend will only get stronger. The companies that win won't be the ones with the biggest partner programs. They'll be the ones that know how to use partnerships at each growth stage and across every part of their customer experience. They'll understand that partnerships aren't just about scaling - they're about building better businesses.

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That's all for today. Thanks for reading. I'm happy you joined.

Cheers,

Bernhard Friedrichs

Founder - PartnerStandard™

P.S.: This was my first newsletter email. I'd love to hear your thoughts about the format, length, and type of content. And if you found it valuable, please share it with others who might benefit.