Best Practices for Managing Your APN Partner Solutions Finder Listing to Connect with Customers

By Rose Cruze, APN Partner Support Rep at AWS

For AWS Partner Network (APN) Partners at the Select tier and above, the AWS Partner Solutions Finder (PSF) is a useful tool that enables AWS customers to easily search for and connect with APN Consulting and Technology Partners based on their business needs.

This experience is now available in several languages aside from English:

Customers regularly use the Partner Solutions Finder to discover APN Partners that can help them design, migrate, manage, and optimize workloads on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Each APN Partner is responsible for managing their own PSF profile listing, with up-to-date information about your company that will help your page surface in customers’ search results.

In this post, I will explore best practices for managing your PSF listing and getting the most out of this valuable resource for APN Partners.

How Customers Use the Search Options

The AWS Partner Solutions Finder search bar delivers results based on partner name, AWS Competency and other APN program designations, as well as partner solutions, case studies, office locations, and other key areas important to customers.

Searches can be further refined based on industry, AWS products, use cases, and public sector offerings such as socioeconomic categories and contract vehicles.

Figure 1 – The search bar delivers results based on company name, keyword, solution, location, and more.

An APN Partner’s standing in PSF search results depends on several factors. It’s primarily based on search relevance related to keywords input by users that connect with partner information such as name, locations, solutions, case studies, and participation in various APN programs.

Another factor that influences standing in PSF search results is a partner’s APN tier status (Select, Advanced, Premier). Organizations at the registered level are not shown in PSF results. Companies must be Select tier or higher to have a visible PSF listing.

With the launch of the PSF in Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, and Korean, APN Partners with offices in these countrires will rank higher in the respective local language experience.

The PSF also surfaces APN Partners based on AWS-validated qualifications, such as AWS Competency and AWS Service Delivery designations, as well as membership in the AWS Managed Services Provider (MSP), Well-Architected, Public Sector, and Solution Provider Partner Programs, to name a few.

APN programs like these help highlight a company’s areas of expertise to AWS customers. Learn more about the differentiation programs available to APN Consulting and Technology Partners, and connect with your partner representative to see how you can join.

What’s Included in Your PSF Listing

The Partner Solutions Finder listing for each APN Partner includes important information about your company’s AWS offering, including:

AWS Competencies
AWS Service Delivery designations
APN program memberships (MSP, Public Sector, Well-Architected)
AWS Certifications
Target customer base
Case studies
Company locations

Some of this information is reported by AWS and will appear in an APN Partner’s PSF listing automatically. This includes AWS Competencies, APN program memberships, and public sector contract vehicles. Other information, such as your company logo and areas of focus, must be self-reported by APN Partners in their Partner Central account.

Other information, such as company logo, description, and areas of focus, must be self-reported by APN Partners in their APN Partner Central account. In addition to English, you can provide content in Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, and Korean on the My Partner Solution Finder Listing page in Partner Central.

APN Partner descriptions and reported qualifications are provided by the APN Partner and are not verified by AWS.

Let’s take a look at a sample PSF listing and the information that is the responsibility of AWS and the APN Partner to manage. Red designates areas of the PSF listing that are auto-populated by AWS; Green represents areas that must be self-reported by APN Partners. Please click the image to enlarge.

Figure 2 – Red areas of the PSF listing are auto-populated by AWS; green areas must be self-reported by APN Partners.

How to Manage Your PSF Listing

APN Partners at the Select tier and above can manage their Partner Solutions Finder listing in APN Partner Central. To make edits to your listing, Alliance Leads can access the My Partner Solutions Finder Listing page and update the company details section.

You can add office locations and updated partner-reported qualifications. Organizations at the registered level do have access to this page and can update their company information, but the Partner Solution Finder listing page will only go live when they move to the Select tier.

To update your PSF listing, follow these easy steps:

Login to APN Partner Central (Alliance Lead access only).
Click on My Partner Solutions Finder listing.
Choose the information you want to update.
Click Edit on the relevant tab and add content to the field you wish to update, and then Save.
To add Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, or Korean content to target users on the localized PSF experience, you will discover the options to Add Language on the same pages.
Partners may also add locations to their PSF listing, ensuring your company shows up based on location-related searches from customers.

Updates made to your company name will change the name of your company in APN Partner Central and in the PSF listing. Brief descriptions must be 135 characters or less, and detailed descriptions must be 400 characters or less. A logo is required for all PSF listings.

Once your updates have been submitted to the APN programs team, you will not be able to make edits to your listing during the review period. Listings are reviewed within two (2) business days.

You may also add locations and languages to your PSF listing. To add an additional language other than Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, Korean, and English, submit your brief and detailed company descriptions in the preferred language.

Additional content, such as case studies and solutions can be added in the View My APN Account section in APN Partner Central. Case studies and solutions are highlighted in your PSF listing once these are reviewed and approved by the APN team.

Leads and Opportunities

Customers have the option to connect with APN Partners through the Partner Solutions Finder listing, which creates a lead for your company via the AWS Customer Engagements (ACE) Program.

When a customer chooses to connect with you, they will share their company information, contact details, and a description of their project. Your Alliance Lead can then view this lead in Partner Central in the My Customers tab under the “Leads” section.

Learn more about managing ACE Opportunities >>

Customer Feedback

To help APN Partners gather feedback that can be used to optimize their offerings, we have a Rate this Partner feature on every Partner Solutions Finder listing. Customers can submit feedback to you about an APN Partner’s business, services, or experience.

Customers can submit feedback by following the steps below:

Visit the AWS Partner Solutions Finder.
Search for the APN Partner you worked with.
Click the Rate this Partner button on the right side of the page.
Fill in and submit the Customer Review Form.
Complete the steps to validate your email address.

Each time customers submit a review, we will ask their permission to share their contact information with APN Partners. This gives you an opportunity to know which individuals submitted the feedback and to follow-up with them directly, if applicable.

The APN programs team reviews and verifies customer feedback to ensure responses are valid, constructive, and insightful.

Alliance Leads can view customer reviews in your Partner Scorecard under the “Customer Reviews” section in Partner Central. These are the reviews your customers have opted to share with you.

Learn more about managing your CSAT data in APN Partner Central >>

Next Steps

To learn more about the AWS Partner Solutions Finder, see our FAQs, Knowledge Base articles, and User Guide for APN Partners.

Please contact us if you have questions or want to talk to our team about updating your PSF listing.