I recently asked a group of Inc. 5000 CEOs which marketing channels were performing the best in terms of sales conversion this year. I’m not exactly sure what answers I expected, but I would not have been shocked if they had said partnering with TikTok influencers or plowing budget into demand generation campaigns or finetuning email newsletters. And, certainly, some of those tactics came up. But to my surprise, the most common answer was decidedly non-digital: the classic word-of-mouth referral.

So in the spirit of referrals, I have some companies I’d like to recommend to you: 359 of them, to be precise. I’m speaking of the third cohort of Inc. Power Partners, of which—congratulations!—I’m glad to say, you are a part. This is our definitive ranking of vendors and suppliers that have demonstrated excellence in serving small and midsize customers. As part of the vetting process, our team of editors, researchers, and reporters gathered information on companies’ products and services, assessed their reputation as captured in online comments and forums, and collected customer testimonials to ensure that the sales pitch matches the actual client experience.

Among Inc.’s Power Partners are giants like Intuit QuickBooks, Slack, and Oracle NetSuite; muscular challenger brands like Xero, Insperity, and HubSpot; and fascinating upstarts like Carrot Fertility, which shapes IVF employee benefits programs, and Virtru, a top cybersecurity adviser.

In every case, we spoke to founders like you who were happy to attest to a vendor’s genuine commitment to a mutually beneficial business partnership. We’re happy to be the conduit for that positive word of mouth. And once again, congratulations on this exclusive recognition, which is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and commitment to quality that you and your team bring to your customers every day.

Best,

Mike Hofman

Editor-in-chief

Inc.