Building a Network of Partnerships

Building a Network of Partnerships

There’s a famous saying that notes: “A rising tide lifts all boats.” Simply put, there are some actions that benefit all parties involved, such as strategic partnerships.

Partnerships can come in the form of an external partnership, by partnering with other businesses; it can also come in the form of internal partnerships, by collaborating across departments or divisions to achieve organizational goals. Each has their own set of benefits and positive outcomes.

External Partnerships

Can Build Brand Awareness and Recognition: By making a connection between two companies or products that serve a similar demographic, you can get your organization’s name in front of people who may not have heard of you before. If you are able to build a bridge to why the partnership exists in the mind of the customer, it has the potential to exponentially increase your brand awareness.

Can Create a New Customer Base: Any marketing funnel will tell you once you have brand awareness with the customer and have communicated why they should engage with a product or offering that the next step is to turn them into a customer. If your partnerships are authentic, prospective customers or clients will see the benefit and take action. The key is to give them a clear call to action so they engage in a meaningful way.

Can Increase Brand Trust: Not every partnership is worth pursuing; it has to be a win-win for both organizations. Your customers and clients will be exposed to the organizations you choose as partners. In a way, they have placed their trust in you by engaging with your content, subscribing to your newsletter, or buying your products or services. They expect value and any strategic partnerships you form should have the consumer in mind.

Internal Partnerships

Alignment around the Organizational Goals: We have heard it time and time again: too many teams end up operating in “silos” within the larger organization. However, when there is collaboration and communication across departments, it leads to a shared purpose around the organizational goals. When teams connect with individuals from other internal departments, they often will naturally become more aligned and think more strategically about how their partnership can contribute to the overall mission of the organization.

Solving Difficult Problems: Two heads are better than one, right? When you have great internal partnerships, you have a potential thought partner when a difficult problem arises. Sometimes it takes a person with an internal organizational perspective who’s not a member of your team or department to help you figure out a solution. They can understand the complexities of the company and offer a different thought process on how to fix the issue.

Employee Retention: When you have built fantastic working relationships within your organization and have trusted internal partners, it will lead to happier employees. It’s as simple as that. There will always be conflict or disagreements, but healthy communication and frequent collaboration between partners will ensure disputes get resolved in a professional manner. Transparency, clear communication, and mutual respect? That sounds like a great work environment to me!

Partnerships can take many forms, whether external or internal, but the key is to start internally. If you can’t build that collaborative culture within your organization, you will be hard-pressed to find external partners who will want to work with you. So work from the inside out and enjoy the fruits of excellent partnerships.

 
 

More Posts