By Doron Cohen
Strategic partnerships are increasingly becoming a vital element of businesses’ corporate growth strategies with executives setting aside 20 percent of their assets or more to developing and maintaining partnerships. In the globalizing economy, strategic partnerships are helping businesses pool knowledge resources, diversify their product lines and more. What do you hope to gain through your next strategic partnership?In the recent “Grow from the Right Intro” report by Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and the Business Performance and Innovation (BPI) Network in conjunction with Powerlinx over 330 senior management executives from around the world give insight into the goals strategic partnerships are helping them achieve. Below find the top six reported benefits businesses aim to derive from new partnerships.
1. Acquire New Customers
Increased market share and market access are the leading reasons businesses seek new partnerships, with 68 percent of executives listing acquiring new customers as a main benefit of effective alliances. Businesses can participate in new supplier-vendor relationships, form ongoing deals with import/export firms and more in order to increase market share and access.
2. Increase Revenue
66 percent of senior executives view increased revenue as a primary advantage of successful partnerships. When their strategic objectives align and their resources complement each other, business partners can provide each other new market access and, in turn, new revenue streams.
3. Expand Geographic Reach
Expanding distribution is among the top three benefits sought by businesses entering into partnerships, with 32 percent of executives naming expanding geographic reach as a primary goal of their partnerships. Tightly linked to accessing new customers and revenue channels, geographic expansion is often a first step toward new growth.
4. Extend Product Lines
27 percent of executives list product diversification as a primary goal of strategic partnerships. Businesses often collaborate to gain access to the materials, knowledge or market they need to extend their product lines.
5. Access New Technologies and IP
Partnerships are often an ideal way to access new technologies without expending resources. Just over a quarter, or 26 percent, of business leaders list gaining access to new technology or intellectual property as a benefit of strategic partnerships.
6. Add Sharing Resources
Along the same lines of accessing new technologies and IP, businesses also enter strategic partnerships in order to pool resources. 23 percent of executives cite adding sharing resources as a primary objective of partnerships, effectively advancing them on their path to innovation.
