Best Practices For Building Strategic Partnerships

Channel partners have to build strategic partnerships to boost success. These partnerships can boost your branding, access resources and expertise, expand the client base, and stimulate income growth without establishing another business. To achieve this, the big channel and its members must adhere to a set of best practices for building strategic partnerships.

How Do You Develop A Partnership Strategy?

First, establishing a joint marketing campaign can enable you to create a temporary brand partnership. Second, a joint venture can be longer and can produce new products or services. But whether you can make your partnerships last long and success will depend on how well you build it and how you care for or maintain those established partnerships.

Here are some best practices for building strategic partnerships so you can achieve a win-win relationship.

1. State Individual Versus Mutual Value

For sure, a strategic partnership will increase the value of your brand. However, you also have to assess your own value and have it recognized in the partnership. Stating the value of each channel partner at the onset will afford equal footing of both partners. This will also show your partner why they should join you.

· What value does each of you bring to the table?

· Will the partnership enhance the values of each channel partner?

· What new client-centered values are generated through this partnership?

If all these questions provide clear answers to both partners, then go ahead and formalize the partnership. If not, then it is better to find another company that is better suitable for each other as partners. The output from such cooperation will result in a strategic partnership, that will deliver a positive outcome to both of you.

2. Identify A Shared Vision And Principles

Have a written vision statement as well as guiding principles for all processes done together. Though you have not established a company, you have entered into a partnership. To facilitate good interaction and collaboration, you have to write these down as part of your partnership foundation. Your shared vision and guiding principles will ensure a smooth transition at the beginning until the end of your partnership.

Furthermore, expect some friction in the partnership. After all, you are still separate companies with separate objectives and agendas that may develop some conflicts. Using the shared vision and guiding principles will limit such occurrences. If a conflict does arise, refer to your vision and principles and have a common ground. Negotiate through the conflict and try to overcome such hurdles in your partnership.

3. Take It Slow Plus Do It Right

Don’t rush into a partnership. Instead, take it slow and get to know one another first. Spend some time on professional and social levels can shed some light on what makes the other tick.

Do your due diligence for that prospective partner before finalizing your partnership. This is also true for ending partnerships. As you have done getting to know your partner before the collaboration, take time to try to solve whatever conflict arises by ending it as the last option. Remember that no relationship is perfect and that flaws exist. If there are issues or problems, communication — and not termination — is key.

4. Establish Partnership Parameters

Have clear partnership parameters for collaborating. This clarifies the meaning and structure to the channel partnership. It should also lessen misunderstandings to can derail the value that both of you are creating.

Parameters are set in an agreement that states the roles and responsibilities of each channel partner. As such, goals, success metrics, as well as timelines for milestones, must be clearly listed. It also covers finances, termination and exit strategies if ever the partnership comes down to these.

5. Train, Evaluate And Communicate Regularly

Even with plans and tactics in place, there will come a time or two where things go as planned. In such instances, it is the best approach to invest some resources to train each other’s teams so that they understand your company brand benefits as a separate and mutual basis.

Of course, regular communication among the channel partners and their teams must be done. For one, take advantage of digital marketing and use a collaboration software and/or project management application. For another, conducting regular meetings is a must.

Lastly, evaluation is a very important strategy that cannot be omitted. To determine which tactics are benefiting the partnership and which ones are not so that you can eliminate the ineffective ones with new tactics that will be better for your partnership. Metrics will provide concrete measures for these evaluations and communication will enable you to pivot efficiently. For good measure, integrate sales as well as marketing teams to optimize resources.

Enhance Channel Partnerships In a Considerate And Strategic Way

Strategic partnerships let you play the field and form many partnerships at once. This is acceptable so long as you make sure that each partnership does not create conflicts of interest and channel conflicts with other partnerships you’ve entered. Never undermine another channel partner and always follow the best practices for building strategic partnerships.

Naturally, most company brands understand the need for many partnerships. However, tread carefully and don’t partner with competitors since these will just end up badly under managing channel conflicts.

NOTE

Not all businesses can offer strategic partnerships. If your business is new, you may not be able to offer enough value that other partners seek. Plus, you may also be busy setting up your company inside and out that thinking of strategic partnership is not the priority yet. This is understandable. You can consider best practices to build strategic partnerships after ensuring that your company is already running properly and can now take on outside factors such as channel partnerships. After all, this is very advantageous for your business and will almost surely boost business success.

Are you looking for a channel that reinforces best practices to build strategic partnerships? Join the ForzaDash community to gain strategic partnerships that promote mutual support and success. Call us here now.

ForzaDash also features an article every Monday. This week’s feature is about 5 Ways Of Effective Channel Partner Relationships. Read here.