In order to become more efficient, productive and competitive, more and more companies are implementing solutions to improve partnerships as well as sales and marketing activities. This tends to be a lengthy affair, involving consultations, demonstrations, software reviews and selection, implementation and training processes. Yet often, after all this effort has been put in, many companies end up facing one of the biggest hurdles in IT – user adoption. In the end, even the best system in the world is useless if its users do not understand and worse, fail to use it effectively. Avoiding this is the key to ensuring success with and through your PRM application.

There are seven rules to follow to facilitate the strong adoption of your PRM system both internally as well as with your partners and customers. They are:

Hear what both your internal users and partners have to say.
•All businesses should ensure that they work closely with their managers and business partners before and after launching a PRM initiative. This is imperative in order to determine what functionality is important to them, any teething problems, etc. After all, obtaining user input and feedback upfront is much less expensive than firefighting later. The end result wanted is to provide better, more efficient management and transparency/visibility into specific business processes. Always bear in mind that a poor initial experience tends to keep people away from the application.

•Be focused and lead
In order for your PRM system to be successful, you need to set measurable goals that address clear problems/challenges. Businesses must think carefully before implementing any change that will alter their relationship with partners. For example, if an indirect sales force is placing information about deals into a pipeline, but a new initiative turns those prospects over to a direct sales force, partners will stop providing information. If you install an online management system, make sure the people who need to use it, actually do so. Change your corporate policies if you have to and make sure you enforce them in order to ensure it is followed.

•Ensure high quality, high value content
Most often, user feedback for not adopting a PRM application is due to the lack of informative, valuable and usable content. It is important to know that poor user perception usually translates to poor user adoption. If you have a partner locator, ensure that it provides up-to-date, relevant information. Likewise your training applications have to include effective courseware and a set of tests that enables your partners to achieve certifications to sell and service your company’s products/solutions, more effectively.

•Ensure ease of use and simplicity
It’s simple – a system that is too complex and hard to use will be avoided. Adoption is always easier if the system requires minimal training and helps people work more efficiently right out of the box. However, it is just as important to note that usability by itself will not improve adoption. Making it easier for partners to complete a task that they are not motivated to undertake in the first place will not increase adoption.

•Train all users
It is vital that all users become familiar with the interface and all of the features of the new PRM system. An effective launch of a technology platform needs to include user training that can shorten the learning curve. During the system launch, the benefits need to be clearly communicated to all potential users. Often, promotions and incentives are helpful to motivate adoption. Innovative training on how to use the system also helps reduce the complexity of the learning process.

•Make sure your users can see and understand the economic benefits
•If a PRM solution requires partner sales and marketing professionals to engage in activities that do not offer any clear economic benefit, they will likely consider the system irrelevant to achieving their goals and avoid using it. All components of an effective CRM or PRM solution must have clear connections to helping partners succeed financially. Features like forecasting tools and content libraries are important because they help both your sales team and your partners to quickly address customer requests and ultimately, close the deal. In addition, these tools also give management more insight into the sales process.

•Stay alert and get feedback
Employee turnover, new partners and customers, evolving business strategies and changes in market conditions can require companies to update and modify how they work with their customers and partners. Businesses should survey partners regularly to obtain feedback on the system and review the real financial benefits in order to learn why and how the system is being used. This is also important to always ensure that your company is providing consistent, high-quality content.

The crunch of the matter is that maintaining strong usage is critical to making your PRM system successful in the long term Understanding the challenges that your PRM system faces and above all, addressing them fast and effectively is pivotal. This in turn will drive user adoption, familiarity and usage. Remember that higher levels of adoption translate into successful channel, marketing and business strategies.