Getting your products to market can prove quite challenging when you are trying to grow a business on a tight time and money budget. Sometimes, you may even lack the skills to share your product further.
Influential business partnerships create the opportunity to help your business grow, especially if they have the reputation, tools, and an existing audience.
Finding Influential Partnerships for Business Growth
The goal of every business is to reach new customers. First, however, you need to consider the type of connections you need before choosing a business partner. Depending on your organization, there are three areas where you could consider finding an influential partnership:
Distribution Influencers
Partnering with a distributor that has an established audience can instantly increase your sales. In addition, distributors already have an extensive list of users they promote products to, meaning that you have a situation where you both win.
Some examples of distributors that have created a name for their successful partnerships are Udemy for learning courses, Etsy for unique handmade items, ProductHunt for upcoming products, and AppSumo for SaaS.
You can find major distributors in most niches, so look for significant influencers with a large audience to distribute your wares.
Promotion Influencers
You could also consider a promotion influencer when you want to reach a wider audience. These businesses work differently from distributors because they promote your product by sending potential clients to your website. Moreover, your effort is minimal, yet they help create leads for your product or service.
Core Value Influencers
Core value or social good partners have no direct relation to the product or services your business sells. However, their impact on your business comes from your support for them, something which customers appreciate. You can do this in several ways, including partnering with nonprofits or other community organizations through sponsorships, giving a portion of your sales, or offering prizes for their fundraisers.
Despite the monetary outlay, it is an expense that pays off because it creates an association between your company with a social cause. Therefore, find a cause to engage your audience and increase your business’s exposure.
Business Partnership Advantages
Partnering with other businesses can provide growth for new and established companies. Here are some of the other advantages:
Expand Customer Reach
It is never easy for a small business to grow its customer base. However, you can reach more customers and create credibility and value with an influential business partnership with an established customer base that vouches for you.
Sharing Expertise and Resources
If you want to explore new opportunities but don’t have the skills or money, you can outsource, hire an expert, or find a business partner to fill the gap. Like this, you find a cost-effective method to branch out with fewer risks of failure.
One example of just such a partnership was between Disney and Pixar. Disney had the movie-making experience and the distribution channels, whereas Pixar was the leader in storytelling and 3D animation. By partnering, they have captured a winning combination of high-quality animation blockbusters.
Grow Business Awareness and Reputation
Partnering with another brand is like getting a stamp of approval for your business while you also vouch for them. However, it would help to look for a business partner with an excellent public persona to ensure that your association bears fruits with your customers, vendors, and other industry professionals.
Revenue Increase
Influential business partnering will positively affect your business revenue thanks to an increased customer base, shared resources, costs, etc.
Identifying Potential Partners
Your business partners must complement your offerings but don’t always need to be in the same industry. Sometimes overlapping industries can create perfect collaborations. Additionally, look for common elements and values to ensure that you work well together.
Don’t limit the scope of your business by only looking for a business partner in your business community. Instead, expand outside your customer base and business contacts to create a more comprehensive network, even when looking for complementary offerings.
Finally, if your industry is highly competitive, you have two options. You can either look for a partner within the industry, allowing you to pool your resources and become more innovative, or look for an established brand to help take on your competitors.
Bottom Line
Therefore, when you have decided on a business partnership, decide on the type of partner and understand the advantages as you lay out your objectives. Then, once your partnership starts to bear fruits, remember that, like every relationship, it requires collaboration, communication, and trust to survive.