Partner Relations: Interview with Storyblok's Partner Success Team

It was in our biology school books that we learned about partnerships by examining the concept of symbiosis: a term that explains a relationship between two organisms that benefit from each other and contribute to each other’s quality of life. Take for example the anemone and the clownfish. The anemone provides the clownfish with shelter for protection, while the clownfish feeds the anemone with nutrients in a form of waste. An excellent partnership that helps them both survive and strive. Therefore, it was at an early age that we were introduced to the idea of partnerships and the fact that they open the gate to achieving mutual success and growth.

Strategic business partnerships present a real-world application of this symbiotic relationship, and we, at Storyblok, couldn’t agree more. We understand that great business is built on great partnerships, which is why we nurture and we take pride in Storyblok’s Partner Program. The program is designed to help our partners find the right customer leads, learn about Storyblok, and leverage a dedicated support team.

To demonstrate our commitment to our partners, we interviewed three of our Partner Success Managers, who work hard to make sure we maintain a successful relationship with each and every partner.

So, let’s take a look at what they had to tell us about Storyblok’s Partner Program.

First thing’s first, how does one become a Storyblok partner and what does being a partner entail?

Valmir: “When a new agency shows interest in becoming a Storyblok partner, the first step is to fill out our contact form. We then schedule an introductory call and if both us and the agency identify as a match, we begin our relationship. This is when the onboarding process for technical and sales enablement starts. Once the onboarding is complete and the first project is done, we confirm the agency as a certified partner agency.
Being a partner opens the doors to our program where agencies can enjoy multiple benefits, which include: free license, revenue share up to 10%, free staff members, free and unlimited workspaces, existing and build-your-own apps, cross-marketing, learning materials, and much more.”

What is the most significant benefit a partner gets?

Francesca: “Based on my experience, our partners love the idea of having free developer spaces and unlimited free users during the whole development process. We don’t have any limits on how many spaces they can add to their partner portal. Therefore, they really enjoy this benefit of our partner program and use all the spaces they need to conduct their tests, create boilerplates for their demos, and, of course, build great projects.”

How do you, as a Partner Success Manager, bring value to each Storyblok Partner?

Elena: “When you have a project where you are creating something new and different, it is very important to know that your partner has your back. That is exactly what I strive to do for our partners. I do my best to make sure our partners execute successful projects. Above all, I make sure they have the support of a living breathing person, and not just a documentation page they can turn to when they have questions about features, pricing, licensing, co-marketing opportunities, etc. I am always available to give free enablement sessions for new partners to make sure they can jump-start their projects with Storyblok, be it a 90 min technical workshop, a sales enablement session, or a quick coffee chat.”

What is the Partners Portal and what value does it bring to Storyblok’s partners?

Valmir: “The Partners Portal is our platform dedicated to agencies and companies that join our program. Here they can find our learning center, where we have supporting material when they need an answer to their question or help developing designs. Our portal brings proximity and convenience to each and every partnership we have. It complements the work of our team, being able to deliver assistance 24/7”.

What is something you see Storyblok’s partners succeed at that they were not able to while using a different CMS?

Francesca: “Based on the feedback I receive from our partners, they are excited about our component approach and our Visual Editor. Thanks to these amazing tools they find it very easy to build and share projects with their clients, who don’t need to have any high-tech skills. Moreover, the component approach allows projects to be highly scalable. This means a project can start as a very simple activity and, when needed, clients can add new features and reach a very complex structure. It goes to show that Storyblok is adaptable to any size project, from a small personal website to a high tech Enterprise eCommerce.”

Last but not least, we asked our Partner Success Managers: What makes you the best Partner Success Manager for your clients?

Elena: “I enjoy the synergy of being able to provide great tools and friendly and open communication. I always listen to our partners’ feedback and do my best to improve their experience, from the Partner Portal learning and sales materials to feature requests. I let our partners know that I am here for them when they need me. By fulfilling my promises I help support and grow our relationships.”

Francesca: “My main focus as a PSM is to create a safe space so that our partners know that they have a reliable and trustful ally for any aspect of their project. Our goal is to help our partners find the perfect fit for their projects. This is why we start the partnership journey by onboarding all of our partner’s departments, from development to sales. We take their teams on a deep dive into all Storyblok: features, apps, webhooks, and plugins, and we facilitate their daily tasks.
After the onboarding, we always keep in touch with our partners, in order to maintain ourselves aligned with any news regarding Storyblok and its usage. From what our partners tell us, they love to have a “real person” to get in touch with.”

Valmir: “​​I focus on building relationships and helping our partners grow their businesses. I, and my whole team, are always there for our partners! We take care of the partner onboarding journey and development. Moreover, once they are ready to roll, we stay present and fill any gaps that might appear by answering questions, providing learning material, and aiding in the partner’s acquisition of new business. We have great technology and a very supportive team, which combined together makes an enormous difference.”

From the obvious benefits of a partnership that include added customer value and the opportunity to reach new markets to the specific benefits the Storyblok Partner Program offers, we make a conclusion that there is a fair set of advantages that both our partners and Storyblok can benefit from. We offer revenue share, free staff members, development spaces, apps, co-marketing opportunities, education, perks, a dedicated partner management team, and then some. We encourage all technology agencies, eCommerce agencies & digital agencies to join our Partner Program and be a part of a community of Storyblok specialists. Our Partner Success Managers and our whole team are at your service.