Think about it: More people means more knowledge, which can be especially useful if you\u2019re working with partners in industries where you might not have any expertise.<\/p>\n
As it stands, more than half<\/a> of organizations use partnerships to acquire new customers, and many see big results.<\/p>\n Just take Greg Butterfield, CEO of the software company Altiris. Butterfield managed to grow his business from $3 million in revenue in 1999 to $339 million in revenue<\/a> less than a decade later \u2013 and that\u2019s without even considering the company\u2019s wildly successful IPO.<\/p>\n How\u2019d he do it? Butterfield utilized large strategic partners to help him sell his products. Their consumers became his consumers.<\/p>\n In truth, a great partnership provides a fierce competitive advantage. But the wrong partnership can be utterly disastrous to business. It\u2019s a delicate balance, and 45% of executives agree that maintaining mutually rewarding strategic partnerships is a big challenge.<\/p>\n How do you find the right partnership<\/a>, one that helps move everyone forward? These five tips can help.<\/p>\n It\u2019s impossible to find the perfect partnership<\/a> if you don\u2019t know what you want out of it. For this reason, you have to clearly define your business goals<\/a> before you start your search. What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Most successful strategic partnerships either:<\/p>\n For example, a company that manufactures guitars may wish to partner with a company that manufactures amplifiers because they have similar target markets and can pool their resources to reach a larger group of consumers. Most people aren\u2019t buying electric guitars without amps.<\/p>\n Similarly, that same guitar manufacturer may opt to partner with a brand that makes high-quality guitar pickups. This increases the value of the guitar (i.e., it brings in extra revenue) while introducing the pickup brand to a whole new audience. It\u2019s a win-win.<\/p>\n Before jumping into any alliance, it\u2019s imperative to define your overall goals and the timeframe in which you want to achieve them. You want to be able to give as much as you receive, and whoever signs on should have the capacity to move full steam ahead.<\/p>\n We all use values to guide the way we do business, and the most successful partners share the same values. They have the same idea of what\u2019s considered good, what\u2019s considered bad, and what\u2019s considered an absolute never.<\/p>\n This is important, especially since doing business can easily become emotionally charged. You want to minimize any chance of you and your partner not seeing eye-to-eye. And you never want to put yourself in a position where you\u2019re forced to sacrifice your morals and integrity because you signed on the dotted line.<\/p>\n Even without the potential for disagreements, your brand is building a culture, and that\u2019s part of what you sell to consumers. If your partner\u2019s values don\u2019t fit into that culture, consumers will notice \u2013 and that doesn\u2019t exactly breed trust.<\/p>\n For example, an accessories brand promoting eco-friendly jewelry may want to avoid partnering with a fast fashion brand that\u2019s known for using plastics and synthetic fabrics. The values don\u2019t align.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t be an expert in everything, but you can partner with someone who is. Some of the most fruitful partnerships are between companies that have different skill sets.<\/p>\n For example, Dell makes PCs, but they work specifically with Intel \u2013 which manufactures processors \u2013 to craft a line of laptops fine-tuned for mobile performance and better suited for customers in transit. It\u2019s a perfect marriage.<\/p>\n Ideally, your partnership should play to the strengths and weaknesses of both companies. You should complement each other, so where you\u2019re a bit shaky, they can step in.<\/p>\nIdentify your business goals<\/h2>\n
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Lead with your values and vision<\/h2>\n
Consider their skill sets<\/h2>\n
Start building a relationship<\/h2>\n
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Scott Miraglia is a balanced risk-taker with nearly three decades of experience starting and growing advertising and marketing agencies. He is currently the president at