For years Bridge Partners has helped technology companies accelerate their business with effective cloud marketplace strategies. Our favorite part of that work? Engaging in candid conversations about how to overcome challenges on the road to growth.
To that end, at the 2023 AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas, Bridge Partners gathered experts from the AWS Partner community to learn how they are using AWS Marketplace as a transaction platform and a go-to-market channel—and share some of what they’ve learned so far.
Featured AWS Marketplace Panelists:
- Xander Uyleman, Senior Director, Partner Marketing, MongoDB
- Nora Di Bene, Senior Director, Cloud Alliances, Genesys
- Peter Malandra, Senior Director, Cloud Alliances, Solace
Matt Baker, Head of WW Marketing for AWS Marketplace, rounded out the panel with Bridge Partners’ own Penny Byron (Principal, Partner Ecosystem) moderating.
Key Takeaways
This conversation made one thing clear: listing a great technical solution in AWS Marketplace is only the beginning of the journey. But the potential rewards are an excellent motivator to get started.
According to a 2023 Forrester Total Economic Impact (TEI) report, transacting in AWS Marketplace drives significant growth for technology service providers, including deals closing 50 percent faster and 4-5x greater deal sizes.
Our panelists concurred with those findings and offered several practical tips for achieving results, including the highlights we’ve captured below.
“Become success managers, as opposed to sellers.” – Xander Uyleman, MongoDB
For MongoDB, reaching existing AWS customers in AWS Marketplace began with customer obsession—specifically, making it as easy as possible for customers to get started immediately. For example, offering a free trial without a time limit was one way to remove barriers to procurement and get customers using the product. This may be a change for sellers used to nurturing leads. In this space, they’re nurturing a customer experience already underway.
“It takes a little village.” – Nora Di Bene, Genesys
For Genesys, an ISV providing customer experience and call center solutions, beginning with internal education was key. Until expectations and processes were clear across back- and front-office departments, from engineering to sales to marketing, business stalled. Everyone needs to understand how transacting in AWS Marketplace might impact their day-to-day work, while also appreciating how it will effectively drive their bottom line. “Once your stakeholders get it,” Nora adds, “they become advocates.”
“This is a project that becomes a calling.” – Peter Malandra, Solace
Solace, a Canada-based ISV with a strong focus on financial services, did not have an active partnership at the beginning of its AWS Marketplace journey. Transacting in AWS Marketplace was a customer-driven project to start, but after a few months of getting the building blocks in place and working with stakeholders across departments, Solace found it was able to leverage the depth and breadth of AWS to engage new customers and expand relationships with existing accounts. “Once the direct sales force understands the value of reaching new customers and accelerating existing deals,” Peter adds, “They typically get on board."
“We love our squeaky wheels, because we are building this together.” – Matt Baker, AWS Marketplace
As Matt Baker made clear throughout the conversation, the AWS Marketplace team is continuously gathering feedback to improve sellers’ experience—and translating it into improved features that benefit sellers and their customers.
“I'm really excited about investments we're making in ensuring that our partner teams who interface with our AWS Marketplace sellers are in the regions and listening—where the customers are. You'll see more to come on that.”
He also shared a few forthcoming developments:
Improving analytics: Enhanced partner analytics within AWS Partner Central will give more visibility into what AWS-led campaigns are doing in terms of the impact for sellers.
Increasing discoverability: AWS Marketplace is trialing a small launch of sponsored advertising on its site, giving partners a more self-directed opportunity to raise awareness about their products. That program is expected to expand in the coming year.
READ MORE: Cloud Marketplaces: Your Biggest GTM Opportunity
Empower Your Ecosystem with Bridge Partners
At Bridge Partners, we are committed to helping our clients navigate the complexities of the cloud marketplace. We unlock the enormous value your partner ecosystem represents by elevating partner programs, enabling the channel, and accelerating pipelines. Our unmatched experience in partner ecosystems and alliances helps you maximize the impact of your partner channel. See how we can empower your ecosystem and drive success in this new era.
KEEP READING: Embracing Cloud Marketplaces: The New Frontier For IT Procurement And Sales
This blog was co-authored by Bond Huberman.
