Estimated learn time: 3 minutes, 57 seconds
From 2015 to 2020, MapTiler doubled the variety of international locations the place it has clients. The Swiss-based SaaS firm now helps governments, enterprises, and SMBs in over 120 international locations by offering maps API for internet and cell builders.
I chatted with Tom Armitage, MapTiler’s Senior Technical Author, about how MapTiler makes use of strategic partnerships to develop its international buyer base.
1. Use Associates As Native Gross sales Companions
MapTiler maintains developer documentation in English — and because the major enterprise language all through the world, this works nicely for many of its customers.
“However there are components of the world that need to do enterprise otherwise,” Tom defined. “Possibly the documentation for builders is nice, however they’d wish to be bought to by a salesman that speaks their language.”
That is when Tom’s group seeks out associates who can function native MapTiler consultants. By understanding a area’s native language and tradition, these strategic companions could be a one-stop store for localized advertising and marketing and gross sales assist.
MapTiler has seen vital progress in income in international locations with lively affiliate partnerships. As an illustration, since they onboarded an affiliate companion in Japan, their gross sales within the nation have elevated by over 300%.
Observe: MapTiler Makes use of FastSpring’s Affiliate Advertising platform to simply observe affiliate gross sales and pay out their companions. Be taught extra about how one can achieve entry to a community of 10K+ international affiliate companions and improve income in new markets.
MapTiler makes some extent of being at developer-focused and different tech conferences to unfold model consciousness. “We’ve a really lively group of individuals which might be on the market making connections on a regular basis: speaking to individuals and telling them about how our great cartography can enhance their merchandise.”
However the group additionally makes use of in-person occasions to seek out associates and kind strategic partnerships with different corporations.
Conferences and different trade occasions are helpful if you need to solid a large web and see who’s desirous about working collectively. However if you’re searching for one thing particular, that’s the place social media also can assist.
“If we all know that there’s a rustic that requires this stage of service, we take a look for who would possibly be capable of supply that service to us. Typically they simply come to us through our web site, however we additionally unfold the phrase by way of social media that we’re searching for affiliations with corporations.”
MapTiler maintains a partnership web page on its web site for events and is all the time looking out for brand spanking new companions.
3. Make Positive Your Pricing and Checkout Are Localized
If you happen to’re utilizing associates to extend gross sales in an area area, make it possible for customers can simply try utilizing their most well-liked language, foreign money, and fee strategies. This can make your companions’ jobs lots simpler.
MapTiler makes use of FastSpring’s branded checkout platform to localize pricing and the checkout expertise, together with calculating and amassing VAT, GST, and gross sales tax.
Per inside analysis, we discovered that displaying native currencies and fee strategies can improve native conversions by as much as 50%.
4. Determine Your Champion Customers
“Each from time to time, we get a champion consumer that actually likes what we’re doing. They actually get us, and we get them,” Tom defined.
That is particularly helpful when the champion consumer is an influencer of their market. “That may actually assist promote your merchandise with out it being any type of paid relationship.”
MapTiler’s group encourages these champion customers by ensuring they’re well-supported on the product. However additionally they make it possible for sharing and selling is a two-way avenue.
“In the event that they’re a blogger or one thing like that, then we’ll clearly be sharing and serving to them unfold the phrase about what they’re doing, as nicely.”
5. Make It Actually Straightforward to Get Began
A giant a part of MapTiler’s success is how user-friendly the platform is. Tom’s group has spent quite a lot of power creating assist supplies that make it simple for a brand new firm to get began and for current customers to seek out new makes use of for the platform.
“You come on our web site, you’ll discover quite a lot of details about how you can develop, combine, and use the maps in your personal companies: hundreds and a great deal of code snippets and code samples.
Utilizing a product-led progress (PLG) mannequin, there are free tiers for all three of MapTiler’s subscription choices designed to supply “fast wins” for brand spanking new customers.
Whenever you join MapTiler Cloud, “there’s a code pattern that you may drag and drop straight into no matter it’s that you just’re doing so to in a short time, very merely get began.”
If you’re desirous about including maps to your web site or apps, you may get a free trial.
