Your platform has 200 partners. Ten of them drive 80% of customer value. The other 190 require constant support but generate minimal ecosystem activity.
You're treating them all the same.
That's why your partner program doesn't scale.
The Problem with Flat Partner Programs
Common approach:
- Everyone gets same partner portal access
- Same co-marketing MDF budget
- Same support response time
- Same program benefits
The reality:
- Strategic partners need more support than you're giving
- Low-engagement partners consume resources without ROI
- Mid-tier partners have no incentive to grow
You need tier differentiation.
Salesforce's Partner Tier Framework
Salesforce AppExchange has four tiers:
Registered Partner (Entry):
- Self-service onboarding
- Access to developer resources
- Community support only
- Can list in AppExchange
Silver Partner:
- Requirements: 10+ customer deployments, AppExchange Security Review passed
- Benefits: Partner badge, listing boost, quarterly business reviews
- Investment: Minimal dedicated resources
Gold Partner:
- Requirements: 100+ deployments, certified consultants, customer references
- Benefits: Co-selling with Salesforce reps, MDF budget, featured placement
- Investment: Dedicated partner manager
Platinum Partner:
- Requirements: 500+ deployments, strategic product integration, joint GTM
- Benefits: Product roadmap input, executive sponsorship, premier events
- Investment: Full partnership team
The insight: Each tier has clear graduation criteria and proportional investment.
Defining Your Tier Structure
Start with value segmentation:
Tier 1: Strategic Partners (Top 5-10)
- Drive significant customer adoption
- Integrate deeply with your platform
- Co-sell opportunities
- Product/market fit for your ICP
Tier 2: Growth Partners (Next 20-30)
- Solid adoption metrics
- Professional integrations
- Self-sufficient but growing
- Potential to become Tier 1
Tier 3: Registered Partners (Everyone else)
- Self-service model
- Minimal platform team investment
- Community-driven support
- Opportunity to grow into Tier 2
AWS Partner Network's approach: They segment further by specialization (consulting, technology, distribution), then tier within each.
Quantitative Graduation Criteria
Don't make tiers subjective. Make them measurable.
HubSpot's App Partner Tiers:
Certified Partner:
- 25+ active installations
- 4.0+ app rating
- 15+ customer reviews
- Active API usage last 90 days
Premier Partner:
- 500+ active installations
- 4.5+ app rating
- 50+ customer reviews
- Revenue threshold ($50K+ ARR through platform)
Elite Partner:
- 2,000+ active installations
- 4.7+ app rating
- Integration with multiple HubSpot hubs
- $250K+ ARR through platform
Why this works: Partners know exactly what they need to achieve. No politics. Just metrics.
Tier-Specific Benefits
The mistake: Generic benefits that don't match partner needs at each stage.
Registered partners need:
- Great documentation
- Active developer community
- Self-service tools
- Clear path to next tier
Don't give them: Dedicated support, custom SLAs, co-marketing budgets they won't use effectively.
Growth partners need:
- Technical architecture review
- GTM best practices
- Case study development
- Quarterly performance reviews
Strategic partners need:
- Product roadmap influence
- Executive relationships
- Joint customer success planning
- Premier event access
Shopify's differentiated approach:
Plus Partners: Self-service certification, community access Advanced Partners: Partner manager, app store optimization, quarterly reviews Strategic Partners: Executive sponsor, product team access, premier placement
Each tier gets what they need to succeed at their scale.
Investment Alignment
Your platform team time is limited.
Typical distribution (from AWS Partner Network model):
Strategic Partners (5% of partners):
- 60% of partner team time
- Dedicated resources
- Custom support SLAs
- Worth it: They drive 70%+ of ecosystem value
Growth Partners (15% of partners):
- 30% of partner team time
- Shared resources
- Programmatic engagement
- Worth it: They're your future strategic partners
Registered Partners (80% of partners):
- 10% of partner team time
- Fully self-service
- Community-driven
- Worth it: Long tail discovery, potential future growth
The discipline: Don't let low-tier partners consume strategic partner time.
Co-Marketing by Tier
MDF (Market Development Funds) differentiation:
Twilio's approach:
Technology Partners (Tier 1): No MDF. Self-funded marketing.
Build Partners (Tier 2):
- $5K quarterly MDF
- Must match 1:1
- Pre-approved campaigns
OEM Partners (Tier 3):
- $25K+ quarterly MDF
- Strategic campaign co-development
- Joint press releases
- Co-branded events
The insight: MDF should scale with partner impact, not be equally distributed.
Technical Support Tiers
Flat support model fails:
Every partner gets: "Email support@platform.com and we'll respond within 48 hours."
Tiered support model:
Registered: Community forum, 48-hour email response Silver: Email support, 24-hour response, monthly office hours Gold: Dedicated Slack channel, 4-hour response, technical account manager Platinum: 1-hour critical response, direct engineer access, architecture reviews
Stripe's implementation:
Platform partners get tiered technical support based on API volume and customer impact. High-volume partners get dedicated platform engineers. Low-volume partners use community.
Tier Visibility and Incentives
Make tiers visible in your ecosystem.
Salesforce AppExchange badges:
- Partner listings show tier badge
- Customers see partner maturity
- Creates aspiration for partners to tier up
HubSpot's App Marketplace:
- "Elite Partner" badge on listings
- Algorithmic boost for higher tiers
- Featured placement for top tier
Why this works: Partners promote their tier status. Customers trust higher-tier partners more. Creates incentive loop.
Graduation Paths
Don't make partners guess how to tier up.
AWS's explicit path:
Partner dashboard shows:
- Current tier: Silver
- Next tier: Gold
- Requirements remaining:
- ✓ 50 customer references (complete)
- ⏳ AWS certification: 3 of 5 (60%)
- ⏳ Revenue threshold: $200K of $500K (40%)
Expected graduation: Q2 2024 if current trajectory continues
The psychology: Clear goals drive action. Mystery criteria don't.
Demotion and Tier Maintenance
Partners should be able to tier down if metrics decline.
HubSpot's approach:
Tier status reviewed quarterly. Requirements:
- Maintain minimum installations
- Keep quality rating above threshold
- Active API usage
- Customer satisfaction scores
If metrics drop: 90-day warning period to recover. If not recovered, tier demotion.
Why this matters: Keeps tiers meaningful. Prevents partners from achieving elite status then going dormant.
Ecosystem Health Metrics by Tier
Track different KPIs for different tiers:
Registered Partners:
- Time to first integration
- Documentation engagement
- Community participation
Growth Partners:
- Customer adoption rate
- Integration quality scores
- Support ticket resolution time
Strategic Partners:
- Joint customer success
- Co-sell pipeline value
- Product integration depth
- Customer retention rates
Stripe's dashboard approach: Partners see their performance across tier-relevant metrics in real-time.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Too many tiers
Five or six tiers creates confusion. Three to four is optimal.
Mistake 2: Political tier assignment
"Let's make this partner Gold because they're demanding it." No. Metrics determine tiers.
Mistake 3: Hidden graduation criteria
Partners shouldn't have to ask what they need to tier up. Make it transparent.
Mistake 4: Equal investment in unequal partners
Your top 10 partners should get 10x the attention of your bottom 100. Act accordingly.
Building Your Tier System
Start with segmentation:
- Analyze current partner value distribution
- Identify your top performers
- Define 3-4 meaningful tier breaks
Define clear criteria:
- Quantitative metrics (installations, revenue, usage)
- Qualitative requirements (integration quality, customer satisfaction)
- Graduated benefits that align with value
Build the infrastructure:
- Partner portal showing tier status and path
- Automated tier tracking
- Clear benefit delivery by tier
Launch with transparency:
- Announce tier criteria publicly
- Give partners 90 days to adjust
- Celebrate tier graduations
Great partner programs don't treat all partners equally. They invest proportionally based on value delivered and potential. Tier accordingly.