No business knows it all, just as one tree doesn’t make a forest, so it is important for businesses to come together in partnership so they can both gain. It is the most strategic way for businesses to scale their innovation and solve complex challenges. Collaborations and strategic partnerships – the keyword being strategic – are fundamental to improving business outcomes.
Partnerships are beneficial to every business. The management team and employees will benefit from partnerships because they have the opportunity to broaden market share, relevance and increase visibility. Customers are not left out as they benefit from the strengths and offerings that the formation of partnerships produce. Employees equally get a chance to enhance their skills and have access to more developmental opportunities by being exposed to new perspectives.
Why establish business partnerships?
Partnerships deepen ties between businesses and foster collaborations and longevity. In all, partnerships are key to improving service to customers by merging talent, expertise, technology and purpose.
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How do you know when to form partnerships and how to create valuable partnerships? You need to identify the specific challenge that needs to be fixed. Businesses need to know what their customers want and then identify who to form an alliance with in order to provide an enhanced service.
How to establish partnerships
However, you need to be certain that your company is strong enough to form partnerships. One of the key ways of harnessing the strengths of other businesses is to lay out what each is bringing to the table and what each business is lacking either operational or otherwise and look for ways to collaborate on their individual strengths in order to grow.
Businesses looking to form partnerships must agree to work together towards a common goal. Establishing a clear goal of what the partnership aims to accomplish is key to the success of the partnership and the growth of the individual businesses involved. A good example is a partnership between Piggyvest and Landwey to facilitate ease of accessibility to land ownership for middle and low-income earners.
Another good example is Prospa’s partnership with Workstation. The workstation has a digital member network of distinctive people and companies to which they send helpful information – newsletters, events and press releases. Prospa has partnered with them on a few events and workshops to leverage their network of entrepreneurs in order to establish its digital banking accounts for businesses.
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Recently, Flutterwave partnered with Worldpay; the collaboration between the two companies will allow Worldpay merchants in Europe and the United States to accept any African payment. These are examples of strategic partnership where each of the company leveraged on the strength and market share of the other to grow.
Effective communication is another way to build a concrete partnership. Clear communication between partners must be established. Having a series of meetings to elaborate on partnership collaboration is key so as to understand the needs of both parties and what they hope to accomplish. Open and effective channels of communication will go a long way in establishing a successful partnership and subsequent business growth.
Partnerships are also a way for businesses to gain access to untapped market segments and resources as well as create supply chain resilience. Strategic partnerships with reputable brands can put businesses in target communities where they were struggling to enter before.
