Coffee with Virid: Creating an Effective Partner Program for Client Success

Today we're chatting with Partner Manager, Ivan Silva, about creating a partner program that benefits clients. He takes his coffee black, because he needs all the energy he can get to go on site visits and build partner relationships across the country.

1. What is the Virid partner program? The Virid partner program is a program that enables our clients to have access to the best-of-breed third party services. Through our partner program we are also able to reach our partners to assist with any enhancements if a client already has a solution in place. The program also helps us when we are consulting with new clients. During the review of a prospective client, we assess the site and also their operations, which includes all the services they have in place to support their site,. This lends itself to learning more about the bandwidth of the team and understanding how they work. During this process, we uncover things like tools that are not being used to their fullest potential or even tools that may be integrated improperly. We also review their day-to-day operations to see if there are additional services that match their operational needs.
2. What challenges do you seek to address with the partner program? Site updates have always been a challenge for retailers, and with the partner program we are really looking to improve operational efficiencies for the end users so that those updates can happen smoothly.
3. How does Virid choose its partners? If a business is interested in becoming a Virid partner, what is the process like? The process of choosing a partner is a secret….ha ha. Just kidding! One of the main things we look for is feedback from clients, as well as information on how the service is supported. We also look for similar cultures—we work closely with our partners to provide the best experience for our clients, so it is crucial that our values align.
4. What is the benefit of a partner program to clients? Through our partner program, our clients have access to vetted services that solve their unique business challenges. This means they can spend less time and resources hunting down the service they need. We have relationships with dozens of vendors, and if the right integration does not exist to support our clients, we will build it. That client-first mentality is at the core of everything we do at Virid.
5. How do you see the partner program evolving in the next few years? I would love to do more events with our partners in the future. I also see the possibility of bundled packages/services that include Virid and one of our partners' solutions. Retail is always evolving, and at Virid we work hard to ensure we are providing our clients with the best solutions available to stay ahead.