Increased revenue is an obvious benefit to any strategic partnership. However, beyond revenue, there are several perks a good partnership can bring to your business. To have a successful partnership agreement it must be a win-win for both parties. The old saying "Two heads are better than one" comes to mind. Expanded geographic reach, increased top-line sales, improved offerings to your customers, increased customer trust and shared resources are some of the benefits of forming a strategic partnership. Frost & Sullivan surveyed CEOs and found that 48% of them identify strategic partnerships as their top technology strategy. Work smarter, not harder
Increased Top-line Sales
For example, those who partner with TechGuard receive advertisements because TechGuard has a Partners page with our partners' logos linking back to their websites, bringing them more traffic. Additional backlinks will also improve SEO. An increase in website traffic will often lead to an increase in overall sales. Reselling a partner's services will increase your top-line sales. Having a strong number to represent your top-line sales helps a company's power. These numbers can help reputation and increase loan eligibility.
Trust is Transferable
Recommendations or referrals go a long way because people tend to extend trust. For example, you are likely familiar with well-known partnerships such as Pottery Barn and Sherwin-Williams. Pottery Barn added a feature on their website to match paint colors to furniture offerings, providing customers with the tools to design a beautiful room. Take a look at the page on Pottery Barn's website to see how they pulled it off. Think of the win-win for each company. Pottery Barn offers additional design expertise and resources for their clients and Sherwin-Williams is advertised on Pottery Barn's site which is known for high-end furnishings. Each company has the opportunity to bring new in new clients who may have not otherwise been familiar with their brand.
Have you heard the story of how Uber expanded their reach in the Chicago, IL area? In 2013 they partnered with over 100 local businesses in the Chicago area. They worked with gyms, restaurants, and bars. The promotion consisted of an Uber giving away free rides for a weekend along with special offers from partner companies such as free drinks at bars, dinner discounts, special ticket prices to events, and more. Consider how you may transfer trust from one company to another by association. Moreover, if each of 100 businesses that they partnered with had 1,000 followers on one social platform then the promotion could reach an increase of 100,000 people. It's easy to see the impact that partnering with a strategic partner could have.
Expanded Geographic Reach
Many businesses want to increase their geographic reach. Perhaps you want to expand your business to reach international clients. Partnering with a company that already has networks in other countries can be useful. Your partner is already familiar with other cultures and their business styles and can share this knowledge with you. Remember, two heads are better than one. Even within a local reach, expanding your company's geographic reach can provide huge financial benefits. Partnering with a strategic partner a few cities over or with a neighboring state can increase your local presence and improve your brand awareness.
Improved Offerings
Forming a partnership with a company whose offerings complement your current offerings allows you to provide your prospects a higher quality and greater variety of service lines to meet their specific needs. In addition, having partners that are known to your customers helps both parties with credibility and it's no secret that customers love a one-stop-shop.
Shared Resources
One obvious benefit of partnering up is gaining the use of additional resources. For example, TechGuard's partners receive access to useful collateral like newsletters and blogs.
Finding the right partner can offer your company a multitude of benefits. If the fit is right, a large increase in revenue could be on the horizon.