At InfoTrust, we are extremely proud as an organization to be a Google Analytics Certified Partner and Google Analytics 360 Sales Partner. It’s a great program from Google, and there are a lot of amazing Partners out there doing great work in the industry. Major kudos to all of you; we’re thrilled to be among you.
But, as with many things in this world, there is always room for improvement and more ways to drive value out of a partnership.
My goal for this post is to outline what your organization should be getting out of your Google Analytics 360 Sales Partner. We have many successful partnerships, both with our clients (see later in this article for a link to our client reviews) and Google, and want to see your organization get the most out of your partnership, as well.
Let’s get started.
Google Analytics 360 Sales Partner Checklist
It’s important to take inventory of your relationship with your current Google Analytics 360 Sales Partner to ensure you’re getting the most out of the partnership.
The checklist below is broken into three categories: technical and business acumen, relationship management, and alignment with Google and the Google Marketing Platform. These are three crucial components to a great Google Analytics 360 Sales Partner.
Go through these questions slowly and honestly. The bullet points underneath each question give you an idea of what a great partner should be and should do.
Technical and Business Acumen:
Do you have:
A dedicated, proactive team of analytics consultants with a single point of contact that will become an extension of your business?
Your Google Analytics 360 Sales Partner should be proactive in helping your organization drive business results. They should not be only a support desk.
A partner that constantly innovates and focuses on the future of measurement to ensure the best possible system is in place to meet your business needs?
A partner that will provide strategic guidance (but also challenges when needed) around best practices to meet your goals?
Industry knowledge and regular content, events, and best practices shared from vertical leads and/or industry heads?
Your Partner should have digital analytics experts in your specific industry. Do you want someone with only eCommerce knowledge working on your news website? Of course not. You want someone who knows the ins-and-outs of the news and media industry, someone who can walk you through proven best practices.
If they’re a true thought leader, your Partner should have content published outside of just their own site. Do they contribute to industry publications? Speak at industry conferences?
A Partner who understands and can help you throughout Google’s Analytics Maturity framework?
Your Partner should be well-versed in Google’s Analytics Maturity framework and experienced in moving their clients through it.
For more information on this Analytics Maturity framework, check out this webinar InfoTrust hosted with Google.
Relationship Management:
Do you have:
Weekly or bi-weekly calls with your analytics team?
To be truly proactive, it’s important to have regular check-ins to discuss work completed, new or outstanding issues, and ongoing milestones (and tasks) for achieving your objectives.
A client success manager who is your advocate, ensuring you achieve your desired results?
Customer Success is relationship-focused client management that aligns your goals with the Partner’s for mutually-beneficial outcomes.
Yearly, bi-yearly, or quarterly business reviews to ensure your partnership is a success and making a business impact?
It’s crucial that your Partner takes a step back with your business on a semi-regular basis to measure the relationship (we use Net Promoter Score/NPS), review progress, discuss current business situations, and plan for the future. Without these meetings, you may find yourself in a rut where you’re going through the motions but not driving business impact.
A Partner that doesn’t charge you by the hour, but by the outcomes and results?
Your Partner should want to grow your business through an analytics maturity journey. This can’t be done if your relationship comes down to being billed by the hour. You should only be billed for accomplishing outcomes and results.
A Partner with a business model that incentivizes them to grow your business, not just theirs?
This one is huge. Does your Partner sell media (advertising)? Do they run advertising campaigns? If they do, more than likely you’ll start to notice that their emphasis on positioning themselves as your “one-stop shop” or “full-service” agency to handle all your business needs grows. This means pushing you to give them more of your advertising dollars. If your Partner/agency is both running your ad campaigns and reporting on their success, how can you trust the results?
Alignment with Google and Google Marketing Platform (GMP):
Do you have:Regular customized trainings for your entire organization from your analytics team?
This is one of the most omitted areas we’ve heard from companies. A true Partner should be constantly educating you and your organization on how to get the most out of your Analytics 360 investment. And on an ongoing basis; not just to start the relationship.
The latest Google Marketing Platform news and updates for getting the most out of your investment?
Your Partner should keep you up-to-date with the latest news and updates, especially for anything that is relevant to your business.
Access to new Analytics 360 betas to test the latest features and plan for the impact that those features will have on your digital analytics strategy?
Your Partner should send you the latest Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager betas on a regular basis to test these out and plan for the future.
And most importantly (but not really), do you have a Partner that sends you awesome gifts?
Results
Now that you’ve completed the checklist, how did your Partner do?
If you answered “Yes” to many of the above questions, congratulations, you most likely have a true partnership and by all means, you can close this tab with a clear conscience. Thanks for stopping by!
If you answered “No” to more than a few of the questions, then it’s probably time to take inventory of what you’re missing and have a difficult conversation with your Partner.
When it comes to your company’s money, your boss doesn’t care that you have an enterprise-level analytics tool like Analytics 360. Your boss wants to see a direct impact on the business. And if your Partner isn’t helping to drive that impact, then frankly, they’re not doing their job.
So… About InfoTrust
We do things a bit differently at InfoTrust. We believe in true partnerships. We believe in being extensions of your team, not “consultants” or “vendors.” We believe that our success only comes through the success of our clients. And our top priority is to transform your organization’s digital presence through analytics.
This is the reason why so many of our clients are raving fans. This is the reason why the vast majority of our clients continue to work with us (94% client retention rate).
If you’re not getting everything you should out of your Partner, ask why. Demand more from your Partner. You can send your Partner this article if you’d like. Or tell them “Andy Gibson said you should be doing more for us!” (Though I’m not certain how far that last suggestion will get you.)
And after all of that, if they’re just not cutting it, reach out to InfoTrust. We’ll walk you through how we partner with some of the largest companies and brands in the world to improve their businesses. What’s more, we make them happy while we do it.
