Tom Serani, vp of sales at RatePoint
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — At the Parallels Summit on Tuesday, online reputation management solution company RatePoint (www.ratepoint.com) announced that it had expanded its partner program.
The updated service, says the company, adds a new set of features, as well as new opportunities resellers to create revenue from offering the service.
After a big year in 2008 – a year that saw web hosting giant 1&1 Internet join the ranks of RatePoint resellers – the company is adjusting its partner program to appeal more to companies of any size.
In an email interview with the Web Host Industry Review, RatePoint co-founder and VP of sales Tom Serani explained some of the changes to the program, as well as some of the different ways in which partners are building the reputation management system into their offerings.
WHIR: Can you give me a few examples of specific ways in which the updated reseller program is an improvement over the previous program?
Tom Serani: We’ve expanded the reseller program to make it as easy as possible for partners of any size to resell RatePoint. We’ve included more features and created new revenue opportunities for businesses that are looking for ways to drive value to their customer base, while increasing their own profitability.
RatePoint’s solution includes e-mail marketing, survey and dispute resolution capabilities so businesses can easily accomplish their sales, marketing and customer service objectives. Through RatePoint’s solution, businesses stay connected with customers to build consumer trust, improve retention and drive repeat business.
RatePoint has partnered with some very large web hosts. Is part of this new reseller program a concerted effort to target smaller partners? Is that part of the channel not something you’ve tapped to the extent you could?
TS: This past year has been very exciting. RatePoint forged a number of strong partnerships with leading Web hosts such as 1&1, Endurance, Lunar Pages and several others. We’ll be announcing several more key partnerships in the upcoming month as well. The reception RatePoint has received in the market validates the need for value-added services that have substance.
RatePoint’s goal is to extend our reach to a wider audience with this new launch.
If you look at how we built the RatePoint platform, it’s membership-based and companies are required to maintain a minimum customer rating to remain on the platform. RatePoint works best for those who are committed to achieving quality as defined by their own customers.
Similarly with our partner program, we are looking for partners who are the right fit. We want partnerships that help RatePoint to bring better value to our customers and ultimately enhance their reputation. We aren’t necessarily looking at a particular company size or to have as many partners as possible, but instead focusing on finding quality partners.
You’re offering three tiers of partnership – affiliates, business partners and strategic partners. Can you give me a quick breakdown of the characteristics of the various tiers?
TS: The Affiliate Program is for destination Web sites who are looking to earn one-time bounty commissions.
The Business Partner Program provides an ongoing revenue share for resellers looking for a way to build more profitable customer relationships and capture new business. This includes Web hosts, consultants, franchise, design companies, associations, etc.
The Strategic Partner Program is designed for larger organizations that have extended reach into the small business community and want to integrate RatePoint into their offering.
Obviously you’re focusing a lot of energy on partnering with Web hosts, and that makes a lot of sense. Is there an opportunity for companies outside the hosting business to resell RatePoint, or does it really require that involvement in the customer’s web presence?
TS: Absolutely, RatePoint has already partnered with several other industry leaders outside of the hosting vertical such as VeriSign, First Data, and Parallels. We aren’t necessarily looking at a particular company size or to have as many partners as possible, but instead focusing on finding quality partners that are interested in driving value to their customer base.
Can you give me some examples of how RatePoint can fit into a hosting company’s services, and maybe some specific info about how they might price it, and the kind of revenue that might produce, given the changes to the reseller program?
TS: There are a number of ways RatePoint is currently being offered today. Web hosts are bundling RatePoint into premium hosting packages, as an add-on feature, and stand-alone. Additionally, existing partners have featured RatePoint in their marketing offers to help drive new customers and augment existing revenue streams while reducing churn.
Today more than ever, merchants are looking to their Web hosts, small or large, to provide them with the necessary tools to be successful online. The current economic conditions are forcing merchants to think “outside the box” and take advantage of solutions like RatePoint.
We continue to hear the same pain points from merchants: How do I establish credibility online? How can I turn visitors into customers? How can I keep my customers?
RatePoint provides a cost-effective, simple Web-based solution that directly addresses those concerns.
There is a significant market opportunity for RatePoint resellers. There are approximately 40 million global online merchants trying to establish credibility online, convert visitors, retain customers, and stay in constant contact with their customers.
