How Strategic Partnerships Catapulted My Business To 200% Growth — And How They Can Help You, Too.

I understand firsthand nan powerfulness of strategical partnerships. Our diligent was fortunate during nan pandemic successful that galore businesses were expanding their workforce to spot overmuch distant workers. The geographical dispersion of these labour meant that nan companies hiring them needed to registry their payroll successful respective caller states. My diligent specializes successful expediting registration processes for illustration this. To amended grip nan precocious measurement of incoming business, we secured large-scale strategical partnerships pinch payroll processing companies specified arsenic Gusto and Intuit. These partnerships allowed our business to acquisition 200% maturation complete nan group of a less short years.

Perhaps this is why, astatine nan commencement of each caller year, I artifact retired immoderate clip to bespeak connected strategical partnerships for my business, those I'm considering, those I'm pursuing, arsenic bully arsenic those that I'm actively maintaining.

I endeavor to beryllium arsenic overmuch of a doer arsenic I americium a dreamer, and bully partners are nan span betwixt nan two.

Related: How to Use Strategic Partnerships for More Explosive Growth

What is simply a strategical partnership?

Strictly speaking, a strategical business is simply a narration betwixt 2 business entities that purport to proviso 1 different pinch 1 aliases respective advantages.

Microsoft, for instance, is simply a patient endeavor that acquires partners by nan thousands. There are package companies that Microsoft promotes connected their platforms. Microsoft benefits from nan explanation of their technological ecosystem, and their partners usage from a marketplace scope they could ne'er execute connected their own. Microsoft maintains abstracted partnerships pinch OEMs that build products pre-installed pinch Microsoft (and its partners') software.

On a smaller scale, your conception accounting diligent whitethorn style a earthy business pinch 1 aliases overmuch bookkeeping businesses. The accountants' activity measurement whitethorn beryllium truthful precocious that they tin easy tin their days pinch higher-level CPA-worthy tasks while allotting nan overmuch menial bean-counting to their bookkeeping partners.

Five types of strategical partnerships

When I'm assessing my existent partnerships aliases advising a customer connected their own, I deliberation successful position of 5 categories: Marketing partnerships, proviso concatenation partnerships, integration partnerships, financial partnerships and exertion partnerships.

Marketing partnerships: In nan summertime of 2024, nan McDonald's Happy Meal artifact was 1 of respective figurines from Disney's Inside Out 2 characteristic film. This is an illustration of a trading business betwixt McDonald's and Disney. Smaller companies and lesser-known brands whitethorn too usage from trading partnerships, peculiarly erstwhile 1 diligent has a well-developed merchandise aliases activity but is constricted successful its marketplace reach.

Supply concatenation partnerships: Sticking pinch McDonalds, nan Coca-Cola institution is an invaluable proviso concatenation partner, ensuring that nan edifice concatenation remains well-stocked pinch soft drinks, which McDonald's past sells astatine a steep markup. Similarly, a wedding arena readying business whitethorn routinely partner pinch a peculiar DJ aliases photograph booth supplier to coming a nosy and festive wedding experience. Supply concatenation partnerships tin streamline service, amended worth and trim costs.

Integration partnerships: In this partnership, 2 aliases overmuch companies excavation resources to create a chopped merchandise aliases service. Think PCs: an integrated merchandise calved of nan business betwixt Intel, Microsoft and a instrumentality manufacturer, specified arsenic Hewlett-Packard. Integration allows companies to bring overmuch worthy to nan marketplace successful 1 fell swoop.

Financial partnerships: Banks, task capital, information and maestro services firms are often basal to proviso businesses pinch expertise that they cannot support internally.

Technology partnerships: Companies that woody successful ample data, specified arsenic information companies aliases finance banking firms, petition technological expertise astatine nan ready. Microsoft's Azure and Amazon's AWS platforms are manufacture leaders successful providing enterprise-size businesses pinch powerful unreality computing support. Meanwhile, a smaller business mightiness style a partner pinch a web designer to create a bid of engaging landing pages to propulsion caller business.

Related: Don't Go It Alone: How to Use Partnerships arsenic a Growth Strategy

Finding complementary strategical partners

As a bully first measurement to locating cleanable partners for your business, spot those successful your web and statement who proviso services aliases products that complement your business successful immoderate way.

If you're struggling to recreation up pinch imaginable partners, effort looking inward alternatively of outward. How do you and your colleagues usage your time? For example, do you locomotion 10 percent of your activity hours successful a play managing your accounts receivable, accounts payable, reconciling your slope statements, monitoring your money aliases figuring retired your taxation liability? If so, past you'd apt usage from a financial business pinch an accountant and/or bookkeeper. That clip you free up tin beryllium utilized to support your business's halfway operations aliases to investigation caller maturation opportunities.

I'd impulse mounting reside clip astatine nan opening of each twelvemonth to investigation caller business possibilities. Do this by browsing done your LinkedIn web aliases different online forums. You tin look for upcoming networking events and opportunities to spell progressive successful manufacture associations and committees. Reach retired to your erstwhile colleagues arsenic bully arsenic your customers.

How to measurement relationship programs (pre-fabricated partnerships)

Keep successful mind that each B2B diligent retired there, by definition, offers immoderate style of strategical partnership. Several of these firms will relationship "partner programs" pinch their position and incentives predefined. There are connection trading partner programs, specified arsenic nan long-running Amazon Associate programme for retailers aliases Airbnb for spot managers and owners. You'll too find re-sale partnerships, whereby nan partnering diligent provides you pinch nan merchandise (or entree to nan service) and you proviso nan marketing. There are virtually thousands of these pre-fabricated partnering services to return from. Here are immoderate tips erstwhile assessing whether becoming an relationship is simply a bully thought for your business:

• Look for a highly transparent mentation of really nan business will operate. How overmuch activity will you personification to do, what costs will you incur, what are nan risks and what do you guidelines to gain?
• Determine nan people to which you'll personification nan expertise to interface pinch nan partner programs' leadership. If you tin talk to nan caput honcho, past you whitethorn beryllium tin to advocator for modifications to nan business that will advantage you. Moreover, if you brushwood a problem you'll beryllium overmuch apt to get it resolved expediently.
• Find retired if nan partner programme provides ongoing acquisition resources for you and your staff.training for your squad successful areas that usage your business is ever a bully thing.
• Investigate immoderate prize structures, merchandise discounts and different perks that you'll personification arsenic an affiliate. Additionally, find retired if nan programme pays its affiliates promptly aliases if you're apt to get stuck waiting for an unduly agelong time.
• Look for bad reviews, exorbitant fees to participate, minimum income requirements and different reddish flags that could diminish nan worthy of nan business aliases moreover move it into a liability.

Related: Most Business Partnerships Fail — 5 Hacks to Make Sure Yours Stays Intact

When assessing nan optimal partners for your firm, create your consciousness of synergy. There comes a constituent successful nan entrepreneur's decision-making process erstwhile each owed diligence has been done, and nan past determination must beryllium made connected instinct. Choose nan champion partners to support your unfolding dream arsenic it pours its measurement into reality.