Low engagement with partner portals is a persistent challenge that many channel leaders face. In my experience working with clients, one of the most frequent concerns was that partners weren’t utilizing the resources available to them. In some cases, partner accounts had users logging in as little as once per month—leading to missed opportunities for collaboration, training, and growth. To get the most out of your partner program, increasing portal engagement is key.

Understand the Root Causes of Low Engagement

Before making changes to increase engagement, it’s essential to understand why your partners aren’t logging in. Some common reasons include:

Lack of perceived value: Partners may not see the portal as a necessary tool for their day-to-day operations, or they may not understand how it benefits them. “It’s just deal registration, right?”
Complicated user experience: If the portal is difficult to navigate or not intuitive, partners may avoid using it altogether.
Infrequent updates: A stale portal with outdated content or infrequent updates can discourage partners from logging in regularly.

Understanding these challenges allows you to address the real issues preventing your partners from engaging. The first step in boosting engagement is identifying the friction points that keep partners from seeing the portal as a valuable resource.

Create Compelling, Valuable Content

Content is the heart of any partner portal, and if it’s not relevant or useful, your partners won’t be motivated to engage. Provide content that addresses their needs and helps them succeed, such as:

Product updates and trainings to help partners stay informed and ahead of competitors.
Sales and marketing materials that make it easier for partners to close deals.
Customer success stories or case studies that offer practical insights into what works.

Providing partners with high-value content that directly contributes to their success is a powerful way to encourage frequent logins. However, the content’s value is only realized if it’s easy to find. Too often, I’ve seen asset libraries that are disorganized—hundreds of resources scattered across multiple collections with minimal tagging, making it difficult for partners to locate what they need. Streamlining and categorizing content ensures partners can quickly access the most relevant materials, maximizing its impact.

Simplify the User Experience

A complicated or outdated portal can be a huge deterrent. If it’s difficult to navigate or overloaded with information, partners will quickly disengage. Consider simplifying the portal design:

Streamline navigation so that partners can easily find what they need - no more navigating through 15 different menus and sub-menus!
Put the most important actions first on your home page. Think of the top 3-5 things you want your partners to do on your portal and put actionable content for those items front and center.
Provide a mobile-friendly version so partners can access the portal on the go. Don’t assume your partners are behind a computer at all times like we often are.

A user-friendly, intuitive experience will encourage partners to return and explore the portal more often. If your portal feels like 'information overload’, your partners are less likely to explore all the incredible content you have.

Leverage Gamification to Drive Engagement

Gamification can be an effective tool to motivate partners to engage more frequently with your portal. Consider integrating elements such as:

Program compliance where partners can see how they are doing in progressing to new tiers and additional benefits/rewards.
Badges and certifications awarded for completing training, achieving sales milestones, or participating in events.
Contests or challenges that incentivize regular logins and interactions. Utilize marketing tools to advertise these events (see Impartner’s marketing suite.)

Gamification introduces an element of excitement and friendly competition to partner portals, transforming routine tasks into engaging challenges. Often, your partners helping you close a deal isn’t enough, you want to create a sense of achievement. Sales teams, in particular, thrive on recognition and rewards, so offering exclusive incentives, certifications, or even public acknowledgment can fuel their motivation to engage more actively.

Promote the Portal as a Key Resource

Sometimes, partners simply need reminders about the value of the portal. Regular communication is crucial to keeping it top of mind. Use various methods to promote its use:

Email campaigns highlighting new resources or updates in the portal.
Push notifications that alert partners to important content, such as a new product launch or sales pricing sheet.
Quarterly business reviews (QBRs) to showcase how portal resources are supporting their business. If you have CAMs, utilize them!

Consistent communication reminds partners of the portal’s benefits and drives more frequent logins. You don’t want partners to feel like you have forgotten about them after you approve them to be part of your partner program. You want them to continue to feel supported in their partnership, and maintaining communication with them will help them understand that your partners are a priority.

Monitor Engagement and Gather Feedback

Regularly track portal usage to understand how often partners are logging in, which resources they’re using, and which areas are being neglected. This will help you continually improve the portal’s relevance and usability. Also, gather feedback directly from partners:

Surveys and feedback forms can help you identify areas for improvement or new content to include.
Engage partner managers to gather insights on what partners find most useful and where they see gaps.
Check asset engagement to see which resources appear to be of the most value to your partners, then consider what about these assets set them apart from lesser used collateral.

Monitoring usage data and gathering direct feedback ensures you’re constantly refining the portal to meet partner needs. Your partner program success is dependent on the success and satisfaction of your partners; listen to them!

Conclusion: Turn Your Portal into a Partner Engagement Hub

A partner portal should be more than just a repository of information and deal registration—it should be a central hub that partners can rely on to grow their business. By providing valuable content, streamlining the user experience, leveraging gamification, training, and incentivizing usage, you can transform your portal into a vital resource that drives partner success and strengthens your relationships. Increasing partner portal engagement isn’t just about getting more logins; it’s about creating a dynamic and value-driven environment that partners actually want to interact with. By following these best practices you can transform your portal from a static tool into a hub of activity and collaboration.

By Derek Geslison

Boosting Partner Portal Engagement: Strategies for Success