How to Test Viability of Partnerships for User Growth?
For businesses considering partnerships as a primary user growth channel, it’s crucial to test their effectiveness strategically. This concept explores the approaches for testing partnership channels.
Criteria for Partnership Suitability:
Partnerships are particularly effective for businesses targeting niche audiences or those requiring specialized advocacy. They are also suitable for products or services that can benefit from associative branding or shared customer bases.
Types of Partnership Channels:
These can include collaborations with businesses having audience synergies, influencer partnerships in specific niches, and setting up affiliate programs. Each type offers unique opportunities and challenges.
Considerations for Testing:
- Long Gestation Periods: Especially in B2B contexts, partnerships may take time to yield results. It's not as immediate as paid advertising but also not as long-term as pull channels.
- Influencer Partnerships: Testing with influencers might require a minimal level of investment to engage those with significant reach. It’s important to assess different influencers for brand alignment and audience engagement.
- Affiliate Programs: These may involve technical setup and operational considerations like fraud prevention and consistent brand representation. The viability of such programs can be measured by the number of active affiliates and the sales they generate.
When to Test Partnerships:
Test partnerships if they are a primary channel for competitors or have proven successful in your industry. Otherwise, consider them as secondary channels after testing other types like pull or paid advertising.
Example Testing Approaches:
- Business Synergy Partnerships: Pilot joint marketing campaigns and measure the customer crossover and engagement.
- Influencer Partnerships: Engage a few influencers for short campaigns and analyze the impact on brand awareness and sales.
- Affiliate Programs: Launch a small-scale program with clear tracking metrics to evaluate affiliate performance and its impact on sales.
By methodically testing partnerships, businesses can discern their effectiveness and potential as a user growth channel, ensuring strategic resource allocation. We will cover these channels in-depth in the subsequent skill.