Great! Your company is currently expanding. However, it would be best to find strategies to stay relevant to your clients while doing business as usual. Your business can be at a turning point where you require outside knowledge, resources, or equipment to prevent stagnation or oblivion. Or perhaps you want to reach a larger audience in order to increase your influence.
If any of this rings a bell, it may be time to consider forming a strategic business alliance that will enable both firms to expand steadily, predictably, and incrementally. Strategic business partnership is the process of creating shared value for two or more firms in a long-term business collaboration. The more strategic a collaboration is, the more value it generates.
In this blog, we take through the positive impact of strategic business partnerships, their benefits during downturns, and how modern industries leverage this simple yet effective strategy.
Collaborative Alliance Pays
Need we say more? There is a plethora of data demonstrating how partnerships may considerably improve outcomes for the company, including increasing revenue, opening up new prospects, and stimulating innovation. For instance, Microsoft generates 95% of its commercial revenue from its impressive 7,500 new partners added monthly to its partner network. In the fiscal year 2021, Zoom’s channel partners were responsible for 40% of its business in Japan and more than 70% of its business with the U.S. Federal Government.
For vendors to deliver a successful customer experience, partners of all kinds must be equipped with the tools they need to use vendor content, messaging, branding, and demand creation campaigns in their local marketplaces. Brands that can successfully balance direct and indirect execution while delivering consistent consumer experiences via dispersed and localised marketing will succeed in the market to an unprecedented degree.
How Strategic Partnership can Help Thrive During an Economic Downturn
During the economic downturn, companies look for strategies to help recession-proof their business. In the process, many tend to overlook one crucial element, partnerships.
Partners can increase your influence, introduce you to new consumers, and persuade them that your goods and services are essential to their success, even in dire circumstances. Large corporations are already participating in the game.
According to Atlassian, 700 of their channel partners conduct 1/3 of all business. Additionally, HubSpot’s B2B SaaS partnership programme accounts for 40% of the company’s income. So how can you enjoy those advantages whether there is a recession or not?
Here are 3 ways that partnerships improve results during an economic downturn.
- Partnerships can help expand your market share into new sectors or regions
Partners can expose you to clients who may have the funds to purchase goods or services anywhere in the world. They can teach you the ropes and provide you with invaluable advise on entering that new market because they already have a presence there. - Partnering can reduce your CAC (Customer Acquisition Costs)
By working with partners, you may be in touch with the right leads at the right time. By utilising their wider network, you can reach warm leads who are already interested in your goods and services. The strain on your marketing expenses can even be reduced if you discover possibilities to go to market jointly. - They help you concentrate more on your core business
You should receive new deal registrations frequently if your partner programme operates smoothly. Partners will tell you about recurring issues, flaws, or things your rivals have that you don’t because they are interested in how your business operates and the value it offers to their clients. You can succeed in the future by taking this advise to heart and focusing on those problems or improvements when the economy is bad.
Types of Strategic Partnerships
4 Tips for Using Strategic Partnerships to Augment Growth Rapidly
While some business owners may be afraid to collaborate with other organisations out of concern about misalignment, an unbalanced connection, or a disastrous branding situation, it can be advantageous if done correctly. The appropriate strategic alliance might assist you in concentrating harder on two crucial aspects of your company: distribution and credibility.
If you are thinking of forging a strategic partnership but not sure how to go about it, here are a few tips
Identify opportunities
While some business owners might be reluctant to collaborate with other organisations out of concern for misalignment, an unequal connection, or a disastrous branding situation. If done correctly, it can be pretty advantageous. The appropriate strategic alliance might help you work harder on two crucial aspects of your company: distribution and credibility.
Ensure you have the necessary resources
You must devote first-rate resources to your partnerships, just like you would for any other important aspect of your company. This means that to invest time, effort, and money in the relationship, both parties must have the necessary resources, leadership, and organisational capacity. Make sure your business complies with these requirements. Having said that, realise that most partnerships won’t turn out exactly the way you hope. It needs a shift, and businesses alter course—it just happens.
Utilize collaborations to create momentum
You need credibility to obtain power while speaking with clients, investors, or other prospective partners. A mutually beneficial alliance with a larger, more established company can help you establish credibility swiftly. Additionally, by forging a successful strategic partnership, your business can leverage one collaboration or deal’s momentum into another.
Negotiate to have a better control
In connections between fledgling startups and more established, larger businesses, the larger business frequently utilises its weight to acquire what it wants. The smaller business is thus placed in an awkward situation where they risk losing sight of their expansion. Stop allowing this to happen to you. Hence, it is crucial to ensure the contract is structured in such a way that you too have a certain degree of control over your business.
As a general rule, it’s best to avoid giving one corporation or another exclusivity. In the long run, you don’t want to paint yourself into a position from which you can’t get out.
In conclusion, consider each partnership individually and evaluate them pragmatically. If the collaboration works, the incentives will line up, cultures mesh, and you might be on the verge of securing the major partnership that launches your business into the global market.
Examples of Effective Strategic Business Partnerships
Apple and Mastercard
The contactless Apple Pay technology was expected to revolutionise how people used credit cards when it was first introduced. On the other hand, Apple lacked eminence in the world of card payments, so it teamed up with MasterCard to improve its standing there.
Thus, MasterCard gains from being linked with a business regarded as being cutting edge and the first to be an Apple Pay authorised choice, while Apple Pay benefits from MasterCard’s reputation.
Shopify and Spotify
The collaboration between Shopify and Spotify is indeed quite interesting. The result of this joint force is that it allows musicians to list their items on their Spotify profiles.
Using Spotify, artists can now promote products to listeners and fans who are already interacting with their music. Artists can also easily exhibit products of their choice on their Spotify artist profiles by syncing their product catalogues with their Shopify online, making it easy for fans to browse and buy.
With the help of Shopify, an all-in-one commerce platform, artist-entrepreneurs can manage their brands across various touchpoints, including the world’s top audio streaming services, as well as the most well-known social media platforms and marketplaces.
Post Office and DPD
The way goods are delivered has been reimagined thanks to a partnership between Post Office, the largest retail network in the U.K., and DPD, a renowned logistic carrier firm. The packages will be delivered right to the company’s branches, giving customers an easy way to pick up their purchases.
Combining one of Europe’s most well-known logistics carriers with the largest physical retail network increased consumer convenience, post office traffic and enabled people to return to the High Street amid COVID-19 restrictions. Customers of the Post Office can choose their local Post Office to pick up their packages, learn how often they open long hours, is staffed by a competent Postmaster, and if it is close to where they live.
Conclusion
If you are looking for the right guidance on strategic business partnerships, look no further. At Blue Helion we deliver a variety of completely integrated consultancy services for operational growth and strategy. We provide specialised program execution and plan implementation services carefully crafted to fulfil specific corporate and functional goals.