How to attract quality leads to a B2B product using affiliate programs

One of the most challenging tasks businesses face in the B2B sector today is product development and customer acquisition. The traditional marketing funnel has become so expensive that brand awareness doesn’t bring in target users, but just warms them up. In this case study, we explore an alternative approach — Account-Based Marketing (ABM), which can reduce the cost of acquiring target customers by 15 to 20 times by developing and implementing partnership programs within the business and sales ecosystem. This approach helps you take the first step in ABM marketing, offering a personalized strategy for each client and boosting lead-to-customer conversions with targeted engagement.

The difference between traditional and ABM marketing

What are the benefits of using Account-Based marketing?

Partners often prefer receiving comprehensive services. For example, if your business is a full-cycle advertising agency, you aim to secure long-term contracts that include SMM, promotion strategy development, ad buying, and more. 

This means a steady revenue stream for your company while your partner benefits from ongoing support and project growth. It’s a win-win situation.

We’ve identified three key areas where a partnership program can significantly boost your business:

• You have a B2B-focused Business: A partnership program can simplify market entry and strengthen collaboration with existing partners.
• You’ve got the UVP but no customer feedback: Building a partnership program helps you to gather user feedback and test product updates that address your audience's needs.
• You’re in Search of Competitive Edge and Feedback: A partnership program can set you apart from competitors by providing valuable insights and feedback, enabling you to steadily improve your service or product.

Case Study: Infrastructure Protocol in the MVP Stage

One of our partners and clients is an infrastructure protocol designed to facilitate data transfer between blockchains at the lower level. It is a crucial link for decentralized applications, ensuring fast information exchange. 

Such products typically have long sales cycles, between 6 months to a year, especially in the B2B, where the sales funnel is often more intricate.

Problem: The product is still in the MVP stage with no defined target audience. To optimize expenses, the cost of acquiring partners* must be lowered. So, the product needs an alternative marketing approach.

* — Partners can be either clients or resellers.

Solution: Build a partnership program as a hypothesis to gather feedback from potential partners.

Partnership Program Implementation Plan:

1. Preparation

We created a prototype partnership offer and prepared PR materials/landing pages. The first step involved market research and understanding the product's USP. We analysed competitors, tracked their partnership programs, and reviewed the project's financial model.

Our team was built around the project’s needs, focusing on creating a partnership framework, which was then refined through interviews. 

We studied the protocol’s client and partner base to identify potential collaboration opportunities, and gather feedback to shape an initial offer.

2. Building the Sales Funnel

We created a database of potential partners and developed a warm-up and outreach funnel, selecting the most promising candidates. We segmented potential partners into different ICPs to personalize the approach and offer each group the best possible partnership terms.

A series of technical interviews transformed cold outreach into sales opportunities. The offer might still be unpolished, but if a partnership didn't close or upselling fell through, we gathered valuable insights for future improvements.

3. Refining the Offer

After interviews with potential partners, we collected feedback to refine the offer. We aimed to enhance the collaboration terms and ensure the product's appeal to potential partners.

Our team carefully listened to the interviews, identifying needs and developing a more detailed business client profile.

4. Analysis and Optimization

After signing agreements, we continued collaborating and refining the offer. Many partners approached us with MVP-stage products seeking investment. Throughout outreach and interviews, we collected valuable feedback that helped improve the offer. 

By the end of this stage, we proposed new packaging options based on partner insights, making the product more attractive.

Results

We developed a program that was tested through initial contracts. We integrated it into the product and website for ongoing partner and reseller engagement. This approach offers significant growth potential, enabling steady client base expansion without direct marketing investments.

Additionally, valuable product feedback became the cornerstone for a new USP and pitch deck. Our client leveraged this case study to launch an Ambassador Program and an early contributors service, encouraging projects to test the protocol's solutions and join a bonus program designed for early partners.

Final Price

We cut the cost per lead to between $1,000 and $3,000, depending on the product and project stage.

In comparison, traditional methods of generating leads through product awareness cost between $15,000 and $20,000. Thanks to our partnership program, we achieved a 15x return on investment within a year, and the program's development costs were fully covered within just 6 months through the deals made with partners and their clients.

Conclusion

Partnership programs can be a powerful tool for B2B marketing, especially for “complex” products with high lead acquisition costs. As our case demonstrates, a well-executed hypothesis can significantly reduce partner acquisition costs while delivering a solid ROI. 

Partnership programs foster long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. The approach provided invaluable feedback from potential partners, enhancing the product’s competitiveness and adaptability.