How MapTiler doubled the number of Countries They Sell In Using Strategic Partnerships -
Between 2015 and 2020 MapTiler increased the number of countries where it has customers. The Swiss-based SaaS company is now helping businesses, governments, and SMBs across more than 120 nations through providing maps APIs to web as well as mobile developers.
I had a chat with Tom Armitage, MapTiler's Senior Technical Writer about the ways MapTiler makes use of strategic partnerships to grow its customer base across the globe.
1. Use Affiliates As Local Sales Partners
MapTiler maintains the documentation for developers in English which is the main business language around the globe, it works great for the majority of users.
"But there are some regions of the world that want to do business in a different way," Tom explained. "Maybe the documentation for developers is fantastic however they'd prefer to be guided by someone who can speak their language."
That's why Tom's team is looking for affiliates that can be local MapTiler specialists. Through understanding the region's indigenous language and culture they can be a one-stop shop for localized marketing and sales support.
MapTiler has witnessed an increase in revenue that is significant for countries with active affiliate relationships. In the case of Japan, for instance, since they onboarded the services of an affiliate in Japan the sales of their business in the country have increased by over 300%.
It will also help to increase sales and improve revenue new markets.
2. Look for Partners at Global Events and social media
MapTiler is committed to participating in developer-focused or other conferences that promote branding awareness. "We have an extremely engaged team of employees who are out there making connections every day speaking to people and educating them on the ways that our amazing cartography could improve their products."
But the team also uses the in-person meetings to identify partners and establish strategic alliances with other companies.
Industry events and conferences can be beneficial when you need to broaden your horizons and find out who's looking to work together. However, if you're searching for some specific thing, social media may be of help.
"If we know that there's the country in need of this level of service, then we'll take to look around for companies that might be able to offer that services to us. Sometime, they contact us via our site however, we also share our message via social media platforms that we're looking for affiliations with companies."
MapTiler has a partner page on their website for interested parties and always looking for partners who are willing to join.
3. Be Certain Your Prices and Checkout are Localized
In the event that you're working with affiliates in order to increase sales in a local area, ensure that customers can check out with their preferred language, currency, and payment methods. This makes your affiliates work a lot more easy.
In our own research, we found that displaying local currencies as well as payment methods will boost conversion rates locally by up to 50%.
4. Choose Your Top Users
"Every every now and then we'll get a star person who is really impressed by what we're doing. They truly appreciate us and so do we. them," Tom explained.
This is especially useful in cases where the user who is championed is an influencer in their market. "That can really assist in promoting your products without it being an arrangement for a paid partnership."
MapTiler's team supports these champion users by making sure that they're supported on the application. They also ensure that sharing and promoting can be a dual process.
"If you're a blogger, or blogger, then we'll obviously be sharing and helping them to spread the word about what they're doing and also."
5. Make It Really Easy to Get Started
A big part of MapTiler's success lies in how easy to use the platform is. Tom's team has put in much time and effort creating support materials that allow companies that are new to the platform to begin andfor those who are already users to discover innovative ways to use the platform.
"You are on our website where you'll find lots of details on how you can build, integrate, and integrate the maps into your own service: tons and loads of code snippets and codes.
Based on a growth-by-product (PLG) model There are free levels that cover all three of MapTiler's subscription options that offer "quick wins" for users who are brand new.
If you sign up to MapTiler Cloud "there's an example of code that you can drag and drop straight into whatever you're working on to allow you to very quickly, very simply begin."
If you're thinking of the addition of maps on your site or applications, you may get a free trial.