Building Bridges To Get Ahead: Strategic Partnerships & Joint Ventures

Centuries ago, the women of Peru came together to weave ropes by hand so that the men in local villages could then build bridges, connecting those that were previously separated. Today, joint ventures and strategic alliances abound, acting as the bridges to market that ultimately lead to success.

From co-marketing to strategic partnering and now to the latest trend of joint ventures, collaboration continues to take businesses to new levels. Each is built on the strengths, relationships, and resources of the partners leveraging them for mutual benefit.

Some time ago, I worked with a women-only fitness center. For over a dozen years they had relied primarily on word of mouth marketing—the buddy system as they called it—to increase business. Member’s didn’t quit unless they moved away. However, their relocation resulted in a ¼ drop in membership, giving the owners a reason to look for new strategies.

My recommended strategies:

1. Build a unique strategic alliance platform that leverages your customer base. In this case, a database of 10,000 (3,000 who were club members).
2. Co-brand any and all giveaways, promotional wear and collateral materials because it can save thousands of dollars while at the same time help you build a new customer base.
3. Assess your current data to identify potential strategic partners. In this example, a local hospital was offered a corporate rate and the fitness center will be a featured company at a local health fair, providing a win/win for both the fitness center and the hospital.
4. Consider a joint venture with a partner where you share in expenses and revenues. You will obtain clients that you would likely not have closed before, so a 50/50 split of profits is typical.

Other things to consider: 

1. Align with partners you come to know, like and trust and that have a similar mission.
2. Be sure that your partner and their products/services have the highest level of integrity. If your gut tells you that you can’t trust them to do good business with others, chances are they will fail you somewhere down the line.
3. Ask yourself if you are equally served by the partnership or fix it if there is an imbalance. Unequal partnerships can result in disastrous endings and somebody usually feels the hurt.
4. Select a best-fit partner that is willing to get involved and develop the relationship on an ongoing basis. A partner that just puts up money will only leave you down the road wondering why the partnership didn’t work (it does take two to tango).

Whether you choose to co-market a mailing campaign, co-brand a promotional item or joint venture a split of profits brought about from a joint venture, building bridges that connect people to you and your partner’s products and services is not only the trend of the present it is built on centuries of success.