You’ve probably heard the advice to “Nurture Partnerships to make them profitable”.
But you may not know how to do it effectively.
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
In this blog post, I’ll share with you seven simple steps to cultivate successful partnerships, where revenue is not the only indicator of value. These steps will help you create win-win situations for both you and your partners, where you can leverage each other’s strengths, fill each other’s gaps, and deliver more value to your clients and users.
Whether you’re a SaaS company, a software developer, or a service provider, these steps will help you nurture your partnerships and grow your business. Remember: focus on growing the relationship and bringing value!
Ready to learn more? Let’s dive in!
Step 1 – Be a Closer.
👉 Utilize your expertise to assist your partners in sealing deals.
One of the best ways to nurture your partnerships is to help your partners close more deals. Whether it’s by providing technical support, product demos, customer testimonials, or referrals, you can use your skills and knowledge to make your partner’s solution or service more attractive and convincing to their prospects. This will not only increase your partner’s revenue, but also strengthen your relationship and trust.
Step 2 – Be an Innovator.
👉 Bridge critical gaps in your partner’s solution with your innovative ideas.
Another way to nurture your partnerships is to offer your partner new and creative ways to solve their customers’ problems. You can do this by identifying the gaps or pain points in your partner’s solution and proposing your own solutions that can fill those gaps. You can suggest new features, integrations, workflows, or best practices that can enhance your partner’s offering and make it more competitive and valuable.
For example, if your partner offers a CRM software, and you offer a marketing automation software, you can integrate your solutions to create a more powerful and seamless customer journey. By being an innovator, you not only enhance your partner’s solution, but also create a competitive advantage and differentiation in the market.
Step 3 – Delight Users.
👉 Elevate the user experience by integrating your unique solutions.
A third way to nurture your partnerships is to delight your partner’s customers by providing them with a seamless and enjoyable user experience. You can do this by integrating your solutions with your partner’s solution in a way that is easy, intuitive, and beneficial for the end-users. You can create a single sign-on, a unified dashboard, a shared data source, or a personalized recommendation system that can simplify and improve the user journey.
For example, if your partner offers a travel booking platform, and you offer a travel insurance service, you can integrate your solutions to offer a one-stop shop for travelers. By delighting users, you not only increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, but also generate more referrals and word-of-mouth.
Step 4 – Be an Influencer.
👉 Energize the user community and expand your reach.
Nurturing partnerships also means being an influencer. You need to energize the user community and expand your reach. You can do this by creating and sharing valuable content, such as blog posts, podcasts, webinars, case studies, or social media posts, that can educate, inspire, and entertain the users. You can also participate in online forums, groups, events, or Q&A sessions, where you can answer questions, provide feedback, and showcase your expertise. For example, if your partner offers a fitness app, and you offer a nutrition app, you can collaborate on creating and sharing engaging content, such as blog posts, podcasts, videos, or webinars, that educate and inspire the users about the benefits of healthy life. By being an influencer, you not only build your brand awareness and authority, but also attract more leads and prospects.
Step 5 – Communicate Value.
👉 Make sure your partners understand the value you add to their customers.
Communicate the value you add to your partner’s customers clearly and consistently. To this end, you can measure and report key metrics and outcomes that demonstrate the impact of your solutions on your partner’s customers. You can track and share the increase in customer satisfaction, retention, loyalty, referrals, or revenues that result from your partnership. For example, if your partner offers a cloud storage service, and you offer a data security service, you need to communicate how your solution can protect the data of your partner’s customers from cyberattacks and breaches. By communicating value, you not only demonstrate your expertise and credibility, but also justify your pricing and ROI.
Step 6 – Be Consistent.
👉 Regularly inform your partners about the added value.
Be consistent in your communication and follow-up with your partners. You can do this by establishing a regular cadence of communication with your partners, where you can update them on the progress, challenges, and opportunities of your partnership. You can also send them newsletters, reports, surveys, or feedback forms, where you can highlight the successes, celebrate the milestones, and solicit the feedback of your partnership. Another example: if your partner offers a e-commerce platform, and you offer a payment gateway service, you need to provide regular reports and feedback on the performance, conversion, and revenue of your solution. By being consistent, you not only show your reliability and professionalism, but also create opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.
Step 7 – Be Enthusiastic.
👉 Show passion in adding value to your partner’s solution.
A seventh and final way to nurture your partnerships is to be enthusiastic and passionate about adding value to your partner’s solution. You can do this by expressing your appreciation, gratitude, and excitement for your partnership and the results you achieve together. You can also share your vision, goals, and ideas for the future of your partnership and how you can grow and innovate together. By being enthusiastic, you not only convey your genuine interest and commitment, but also foster a positive and long-lasting relationship.
In partnerships, revenue is the tip of the iceberg, the sum of many best practices. One side of a coin. The other side is in the unique value you bring to the table, helping your partners close deals, innovate, delight users and influence the ecosystem.
Start engaging your partners in these ways today.
Building relationships. Deliver value.