Those who work in the digital market know that making good partnerships can be an extremely useful strategy to expand the reach of your company or product. What you may not know is that business partnerships are not only entered into between companies. It can also be maintained between producers or manufacturers and distributors.
We know that it is not always an easy task to recognize the right partner. So, we have listed 5 must-see tips for you to get along in this.
1. Identify Possible Partnerships
For a business partnership to yield good results, it must be advantageous for everyone involved. Therefore, before approaching your stakeholders, make it clear what each party has to gain from this association.
Identify which competencies you lack, which can be developed internally and which could be leveraged through partnerships. Your objective here is to discover the practices that can be integrated into your processes, to generate a competitive advantage for your enterprise, and vice versa.
Remember that your partner will not always be in the same niche as yours, but their target audience must share the same interests as your persona for the disclosure to be assertive.
Imagine a Producer who sells Chinese fashion products and has a product that is very successful in Bangladesh. He can expand the reach of his business by creating opportunities for local distributors in every corner of Bangladesh, and partner with other Producers who are selling related or multi-niche products regionally.
2. Join Companies That Think Like You
Once you’ve identified the people and companies that operate in a particular area, it’s time to think about stronger and more lasting alliances. To do this, you need to take into account the values and ethical principles you already work with and check-in your network where they are also located.
Look for leaders and entrepreneurs who are aligned with your values and beliefs. This will have an impact on the future of your negotiations. Larger companies with traditional management and a well-defined hierarchy will find it difficult to associate with companies with more flexible schedules and less rigid processes.
The important thing here is to think that among all the possible stakeholders that you have mapped, there are some that will be allies for punctual action and those that will be strategic for a long time. For this reason, it is important that they have the same business vision as you, otherwise you will disagree with everything and, eventually, lose the timing in decisions that could bring good results for both of you.
3. Assess All Possible Scenarios
As partnerships involve more than one person giving an opinion on the main decisions, it is important to discuss all aspects related to the association, whether subjective, legal, or financial.
Compare the business plans with your partner and see if your goals coincide, especially with regard to the results that each one expects to obtain with the partnership. In the case of digital entrepreneurs, these details can be aligned by email or Skype, as long as the records of these conversations are kept for the entire period in which the business relationship is maintained.
4. Network Constantly
Have you heard that popular saying: who is not seen, is not remembered? In this case, “being seen” is the equivalent of having a solid network of contacts, and to build this network of contacts, you will need to network.
We know, the word networking is still a nightmare for the timidest, but it is still the best way to find strategic partners for your business. But don’t think that networking is restricted to attending events. Good networking consists of keeping in touch with professionals in your industry, if possible, offering content that creates value for these connections. It is not enough to send messages about your product through Facebook or Linkedin.
At business events, avoid chatting only with people you already know. You should also think about who can become your new familiar person to help your business and can become your partner.
5. Bet on Efficient Communication
You who work in the online marketers know the importance of having strategic partnerships and motivated employees. Competent people who provide the necessary support for your business to grow. But to achieve this scenario, you will need to invest in efficient communication with all the agents involved in your venture.
Make your duties and responsibilities clear and be open to suggestions that can improve your performance. When partners are aligned around the same goals, it is easier to convince customers about the advantages of purchasing the products or solutions that you are selling which, in turn, will improve your conversion rate.
As you should understand that partnership is very important and your business growth depends on that too. In today’s market, there is no alternative to having a strategic partner, and to find one, you need to be careful, in order to become successful in businesses. To join a business partner, make sure to identify the partner and go on evaluating the several aspects of the partnership.
