Outline

This programme is open to all professional firms operating in NZ that offer services to customers using Farm Focus. This includes accountancy practices, consultants, rural secretaries and other service providers.

The objective of the programme is to support the partners of our primary customers of Farm Focus in order to ensure that they are conversant with the product and able to professionally assist these customers.

Benefits of Accreditation

• An accredited professional partner is profiled on the Farm Focus website to highlight their accredited status. This status acts as a recommendation of the partner to prospective clients who are subscribers of Farm Focus.
• Gold and Platinum Accredited partners will be featured in a cooperative marketing piece initiated by Farm Focus. Prior notification will confirm and agree content and timing. The marketing will be digital and will be distributed to a wide audience of both current and prospective subscribers of Farm Focus. As an example, such marketing could be the notification of a new tier status of a partner, a new initiative by the partner in the context of their use of Farm Focus or an award received by the partner. Gold partners will receive one marketing activity per annum with Platinum partners receiving two activities per annum.
• Farm Focus is eager to work with our professional partners in order to remain relevant in product evolution, and to ensure partners have an insight and voice towards the future development of the product. To this end Platinum partners will be invited on a rolling 18-month basis to participate in an expert panel which is likely to be undertaken on a regional basis through online or in-person events.

Criteria for Accreditation

The tier-based structure of accreditation defines the levels based on number of active subscriptions as well as the number of active certificates held by members of the team involved with the professional practice. In addition, the following initiatives need to be undertaken:

• An Accredited partner is required to display the respective accredited Farm Focus tier logo on their website. The location of this logo will be at the discretion of the partner but must be compliant with the brand guidelines provided by Farm Focus and must be hyperlinked to the Farm Focus website (home page).
• An accredited partner attaining Gold or Platinum status must undertake cooperative marketing involving promoting Farm Focus to their customers. This can be in the form of a newsletter in either digital or print form, alternatively it can be in the form of a training or information event where Farm Focus is featured in a solus, non-competing environment. Farm Focus are eager to assist should any support be required for such cooperative marketing. Gold partners are required to undertake one such marketing activity per annum, with Platinum partners twice a year.