About Partner Groups

Overview

Partner Groups are a powerful tool for delivering an optimal customized partner experience. By segmenting your partners into groups you simplify managing the different needs of partner subsets.  

Partner Group membership is automatically managed in real time according to the rules that you set for each group. This dynamic approach ensures that at any given time, you can confidently communicate with any partner group, or change their access to content or functionality. Everyone who meets the group criteria will be affected in the same way. Those who do not fit the Partner Group profile will not see any change. Partners are added to groups, or removed from them, as the relevant data points in their partner profile change. Any change to the group automatically applies to all activities or content aimed at that group. 

Any partner may belong to more than one group and an individual's access will be determined by the combination of all the groups they are included in.  You can create partner groups based on virtually any partner field, including custom fields. By evaluating multiple fields, you will be able to deliver a highly personalized and relevant experience.

Partner groups are used throughout Unifyr One to control who can access what. The most prevalent use of partner groups is to deliver the correct content to users. You can apply partner groups to your portal by creating views that are restricted to one or more partner groups. 

Partner Group membership can be refreshed in two ways:

• By the scheduled Partner Group update process that runs every 5 minutes
• When manually re-saving a Partner Group after making changes to it

A partner's profile is also reviewed when a new user logs in, or when users are created. Both of these may result in a change to Partner Group membership.

For more information about specific uses of partner groups, see the following:

• Examples of Partner Group Rules
• About Site Configuration and Navigation
• Unifyr One Admin User Types
• Manage Campaigns
• About Marketing Development Funds (MDF)
• Training

Before You Begin

Unifyr One Admin users must have permission to create or edit groups. The user must have the permission Partner Management > Partner Group Definition assigned to their role. Roles and their permissions can be edited in Advanced Administration > Users > Manage Roles. For more information, see Manage Users.

Contents

Click on the + to expand the instructions for the desired task.

Add Partner Groups

1. Navigate to Partner Management > Partner Groups.
2. Click Create Partner Group.

3. In the Create New Partner Group page, provide the following information, as required:

   Parameter	Type	Description
   Group Name	Text	User-friendly name that identifies this partner group.
   Description	Text	Information to help administrators understand the purpose of this group.
   Partner Segmentation Rules		[Optional] Rules to define the partners that belong to this partner group.
   	Object Type	Select the object type that will be examined for this rule: Selected Partners, Partner Fields, Partner Group, Marketing Actions, Partner Profile, Training, Leads, Deals, Tiers, Terms (T&Cs), Events. Notes What is available for selection depends on your Unifyr One package - for example, you can't create a group based on Marketing Email (Mailing) activities if you have an Engage subscription. When using the Deal object, the Deal Status will default to deals that have an Approved status for this Partner Group rule. Remember to adjust the status if necessary.
   	When configuring rules based on Partner information, note the difference between Partner Fields and Partner Profile options: Partner Fields - Objects for this object type are based on fields in the partner's profile in Partner Explorer in Unifyr One Admin (see Partner Explorer > partner > Profile, and click Edit to see the full list)  You can also see the list in   > Forms & Fields > Partner > Custom Fields. Partner Profile - Objects for this object type are based on fields in the partner's profile in the Partner Portal (see Settings > Company Profile). Note though that company profile address information is also shown in Partner Explorer > partner> Profile in Unifyr One Admin - see Address in the gray box on the right hand side.
   	Object	Select the object that will be evaluated for the rule.
   	Condition	Select the operator for the rule.
   	Value	This is the value that must be currently applied to the object for the selected aspect if the rule is to be evaluated to TRUE.
   	For example: Partner Fields (Object Type) + Country (Object) + Is (Condition) + France, Canada (Value) AND Partner Fields (Object Type) + Content Language (Object) + Is (Condition) + French (Value) To get a list of French speaking partners in France and Canada
   User Segmentation Rules		Rules to filter the partner group at an individual partner user level. You can have a Partner Group based only on user-level rules. If you do have Partner Segmentation Rules in place for the group, these user rules will further filter the matching partners. For descriptions of the fields, see Partner Segmentation Rules above.
   	For example: Deals (Object Type) + Count (Object) + At Least (Condition) + 1 (Value) To get a list of partner users who have closed at least one deal.
   +Add Rule	Link	Click on +Add Rule to add a new rule to a rule group, with the rules separated by an AND condition. This makes a Rule Group - all of the rules in a group must be true to trigger the rule.
   New Rule Group	Link	Click on New Rule Group to add a new rule group, with the groups separated by an OR condition. All of the rules in at least one Rule Group must be true to trigger the rule.
   	For example: Rule group 1 (Partner Segmentation Rules) Partner Fields (Object Type) + Country (Object) + Is (Condition) + France (Value) AND Partner Fields (Object Type) + Content Language (Object) + Is (Condition) + French (Value) Rule Group 2 (User Segmentation Rules) Deals (Object Type) + Count (Object) + At Least (Condition) + 1 (Value) To populate the Partner Group with users from French speaking partners in France and Canada who have closed at least one deal.
   User Restrictions	Checkbox	This setting allows you to further restrict the users included in the partner group by role. Only users with the selected role will be able to see the content you publish for this user group. This is a legacy setting that can be replaced by User Segmentation Rules for new Partner Groups, if required. If an existing partner group already has User Restrictions set, they will be respected. To migrate the User Restrictions to a User Segmentation Rule based on the same role(s), click Migrate Restrictions.

4. To view the filtered set of partners (and users, if you've used User Segmentation Rules), click Update matches.
5. Click Save.
6. Mark the group as Active to begin using the group. 

Here is an example of creating a Partner Group using Partner Segmentation Rules and User Segmentation Rules. It's a group that matches Administrator users from partners in France. Note that on the right side of the screen you can see dynamic results of changing the settings - the partners and users that currently match the rules.

Use AI to Generate a Group of Partners

When creating or updating a Partner Group, you can ask Ask IQ to help you. Ask IQ can suggest lists of partners based on your prompts, and will populate the partner rules, title and description of the group when you’ve accepted the suggestion.

For more information about Ask IQ, and how to enable it, see Unifyr One's AI Assistants.

Note

This type of Partner Group generation isn’t based on rules, so it won’t be updated as your partner list changes. Use of AI is recommended when creating partner groups for a one-off action.

1. Navigate to Partner Management > Partners > Partner Groups.
2. Create a new Partner Group or open the group whose membership you want to generate/update for edit.

3. Click Create with AI or Update with AI, as applicable.

   

4. Give Ask IQ some information that will allow it to pick partners for the group, then click Submit.

5. Ask IQ suggests partners for the group, and gives a summary of its reasoning.

   

6. Change and resubmit the request as many times as you like, by entering it into the prompt field and clicking Submit.

7. When you’re happy with the partners found, click Accept Changes. The partners are added to the Partner Segmentation Rules area of the Partner Group configuration. Ask IQ also sets the name and description of the Partner Group to reflect the rules. You can change any of these manually.

   

8. When you’re happy with the Partner Group configuration, click Save.

Note

Ask IQ may make mistakes, so review important information carefully.

For more information on how Unifyr ensures transparency, security, and ethical use of AI, please review our Responsible AI Policy.

View or Edit Partner Group Membership

1. Navigate to Partner Management > Partner Groups.
2. Click on the partner group you want to view to open the edit view.
3. [Optional] Edit the rules using the same method as for creating the rules. See the Add Partner Groups section of this article for information.

4. Click Update matches. The right side of the screen displays a summary of the membership of the partner group, based on the rules you've applied:

   • Matching Partners - shows the partners that match the Partner Segmentation Rules for the group
   • Matching Users - shows the users that match the Partner Segmentation Rules AND the User Segmentation Rules for the partner group

   The combination of partner and user rules defines the membership of the partner group. If there are no user rules, the group will include all users who are a member of the matched partners. If user rules have been defined, the group will only include those users from the matched partners who also match the user rules.

   In this example, the partner rules match 6 partners, which contain a total of 30 users (not shown). Adding user rules has filtered that list of individual users down to 11.

   

Export a List of Partners or Users in a Partner Group

You can get a membership list of partners or users for a partner group.

1. Navigate to Partner Management > Partner Groups.
2. Click on the partner group for which you want to generate a list of members, to open the edit view.
3. Open the Options menu.

4. Choose Export Partners or Export Users as applicable.

   

5. The list of partners or users is emailed to you, in CSV format.

Edit a Partner Group

1. Navigate to Partner Management > Partner Groups.
2. Click on the partner group you want to view to open the edit view.

3. Note: Any changes you make will affect any areas that the Partner Group is filtering. To see where the Partner Group is being used, click Options > View Usages.

   

4. Make changes as required.
5. If you've made changes to the membership rules for the group, click Update matches to regenerate the filtered list of partners (and users, if you've applied User Segmentation Rules).
6. Click Save. 

Copy a Partner Group

1. Navigate to Partner Management > Partner Groups.
2. Click on the partner group you want to view to open the edit view.

3. Click Options > Copy. The new duplicate Partner Group is created.

   

4. Add a Group Name for the new group.
5. Make changes to the new group's configuration as required.
6. Click Save. 

Delete a Partner Group

You can delete Partner Groups that you've created yourself.

1. Navigate to Partner Management > Partner Groups.
2. Click on the partner group you want to delete, to open the edit view.

3. Click Options > Delete.

   

   If the Partner Group is in use (assigned as a filter to some areas of Unifyr One), you're not permitted to deactivate and delete it. You'll see the message Cannot delete a Partner Group that is in use. To find out where it's used, click Options > View Usages.

4. If the Partner Group isn't in use, you're asked to confirm that you want to delete the group. Click Delete to continue.
5. If the Partner Group is active, a Unifyr One message confirms that it can't be deleted. Toggle off the Active setting at the top of the window, click Save, then try again.

See Where a Partner Group is Used

If a Partner Group is in use, you're not permitted to edit or delete it. To find out where it is being used as a filter:

1. Navigate to Partner Management > Partner Groups.
2. Click on the partner group you want to investigate, to open the edit view.

3. Click Options > View Usages.

   The list of areas for which the partner group is included as a filter is shown. You can click on the link to go to an area, which allows you to remove the partner group assignment if required.

   

   If the partner group is not is use, Unifyr One shows the message This partner group is not in use. You are free to update it as required.

View a Partner's Partner Group Membership

To get a list of the Partner Groups to which a partner belongs, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Partner Explorer and select the partner whose record you want to view.

2. Click Partner Groups in the left sidebar. A list of Partner Groups displays.

   

Use Ad-Hoc Partner Groups

In certain areas of Unifyr One Admin, you can build temporary Partner Groups or target specific partners and/or partner user roles rather than building a permanent Partner Group. When using this functionality, the selected partners and/or partner user roles or the temporary partner group will only apply to the specific activity it has been created for, as well as any copies made of the activity.

The Use Case:

When making content available in the partner portal, creating a Partner Group to target a specific subset of partners can be an unnecessary overhead. For example, targeting an email to partners who have completed a specific action or when selecting the partners that a CAM user should be able to see. This can result in single-use partner groups that are then forever available in the Partner Group menus.

With the Ad-Hoc Partner Group functionality, you can define the partner selection rules on an ad-hoc basis as you are building the content.

Currently, you can use this functionality when managing:

• Custom Partner Views
• To-Partner Emails and Pop-Ups
• A CAM’s Partner Data Restrictions
• Content Types for Collateral
• User Achievements
• Onboarding Plans
• Partner Events
• Groups of eligible co-seller partners
• Co-Selling Locator

Follow the instructions below to learn how to use the Ad-Hoc Partner Group functionality.

Once you have accessed the Advanced Rules pop-up from the available areas of Unifyr One Admin listed above, use the tabs to create adhoc Partner Rules and/or User Rules. These rules will only apply to this activity and copies made of this activity. Use Matching Partners and Matching Users tabs to see which partners/users the rules will be able to access the filtered content.

1. When editing any of the items that accept adhoc partner rules, click the Advanced button to open the Advanced Rules popup.

   

2. Add and view information in these tabs:

   Field	Type	Description
   Partner Rules tab		Rules to describe the partners that belong to this temporary partner group. Click Update matches when you've applied rules, to generate the filtered list of matching partners.
   Object Type	Dropdown	Select the object type that will be examined for this rule: Selected Partners, Partner Fields, Partner Groups, Marketing Actions, Partner Profile, Training, Leads, Deals, Tiers. See the Add Partner Groups section of this article for more information.
   Object	Dropdown	Select the object that will be evaluated for the rule.  For example, if the object type is Training, the object can be Certification.
   Operator	Dropdown	Select the operator for the rule. For example, if the object type is Training and the object is Certification, the operator can be At Least (to specify that the partner must have completed a minimum of 1 certifications)
   Value	Dropdown	This is the value that must be currently applied to the selected object/condition if the rule is to be evaluated to TRUE.
   User Rules tab		Note: This tab is not available if you're creating Partner Data Restrictions for a CAM user. Rules to further filter the temporary partner group to an individual user level. For descriptions of the fields, see Partner Segmentation Rules above. Click Update matches when you've applied rules, to generate the filtered list of matching partners and users.
   +Add Rule	Link	Click on +Add Rule to add a new rule to a rule group, with the rules separated by an AND condition. All of the rules in a rule group must be true to trigger the rule.  For an example, see the Add Partner Groups section above.
   New Rule Group	Link	Click on New Rule Group to add a new rule group, with multiple groups separated by an OR condition. All of the rules in at least one group must be true to trigger the rule.   For an example, see the Add Partner Groups section above.
   Matching Partners tab		Lists the partner accounts that will have access to your activity based on the Partner Rules you have selected (view only).
   Matching Users tab		Lists the individual users that will have access to your activity based on the Partner Rules and User Rules you have selected (view only). The combination of partner and user rules defines the membership of the partner group. If there are no user rules, the group will include all users who are a member of the matched partners. If user rules have been defined, the group will only include those users from the matched partners who also match the user rules.

3. To apply the Ad-Hoc Partner Group to the activity, click Save. A summary of the rules is displayed for your reference.

   

4. To stop building the partner rules, click Cancel.

To remove a saved Ad-Hoc Partner Group from the activity, return to the Advanced Rules pop-up and click Clear. 

Training

Related Topics

• About Partner Management
• About Campaigns
• Examples of Partner Group Rules