By Cosmin Ionesco, commercial director, InMotion (part of Choueiri Group)
How can we transition from providing services to creating partnerships – the kind that go on to become the foundations of lasting relationships? I recently found myself asking these questions when knocking on clients’ doors to speak to them about potential partnerships, and presumptuously thinking that it would all be straightforward. However, I quickly realized that there are several elements to consider when proposing to evolve a relationship from vendor to partnership status.
People who know me will by now be expecting a freestyle analogy and so I won’t make you wait any longer. Partnerships are a lot like making cakes.
Making a cake requires a set of ingredients, measured with a small of margin of error, all brought together in a controlled temperature environment to create the precise fusion between the elements that elevates the individual ingredients, all synergised by processes and timing.
If we apply the same principles to partnerships, we could have ourselves the ideal recipe for success (pun totally intended).
I am conscious of the fact that there are many types of partnership cakes out there, but for this analysis I will be using these specific ingredients to create a ‘Programmatic & Outcomes Marketing Solutions Partnership’ cake.
Getting back to our recipe, we have:
- A base of Mutual Benefit
- Transparency serves as the filling
- Everything is sweetened by Trust
- and topped-up with Business Longevity
Before we venture into the individual ingredients, let’s get back to the fundamentals. What does partnership even mean? As defined in the Cambridge Business English Dictionary, a partnership is “an agreement between organisations, people, etc. to work together”.
But how can we elevate these relationships? Let’s start with our first ingredient:
1. Mutual Benefit
Efforts must focus on creating a win-win situation, with both parties embracing a common interest, to deliver on the brief and maximise returns.
A partner will always deliver additional value, when compared with a vendor.
A shift in approach was moving from offering standard products to offering solutions. This entailed deeper understanding of the client’s business and the challenges they had to deal with.
Additionally, often enough when business partners have congruent values and cultures, it increases the chances of a successful partnership forming. This can lead to mutual growth.
2. Transparency
Transparency is the basis for trust.
The recent acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk portrayed a perfectly good example of what can go wrong when a suspected shortage of transparency is at play. It all led to wasted time and resources.
Communication lies at the core, and setting clear expectations early on will ensure that there are no disputed areas later down the line, while also maintaining the integrity of the product being offered.
3. Trust
This is an outcome that is built over time and serves as the absolute foundation for any successful partnership. Partnerships without trust are increasingly difficult and unproductive, leading to lower volumes of business, or potential terminations.
Setting realistic expectations, competency of solutions, compromise and proactive approaches are a few examples of the basic ingredients. These will keep propelling the relationship forward.
4. Longevity
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard; Ben and Jerry; GoPro and Red Bull; Nike and Apple. These are just a few of the long-standing partnership efforts that have passed the test of time. Longevity is the cornerstone, as well as the ultimate proof of a successful partnership.
As any baker would tell you, the best results often do not rely on simply following a recipe. There are always situations that require us to navigate with greater agility as we go along.
One component that could make the difference between working with a vendor vs. a partner is flexibility. As such, solution providers may sometimes find themselves in relationships that have imposed business models and rates, which diminish profit margins to unsustainable levels. In some cases, these terms are accepted to maintain cashflow.
Such situations when pushed to their extremes, will destabilise the delicate nature of a partnership cake, leading to a shortfall in transparency, which in its turn weakens trust and affects the longevity of the relationship.
Partnerships can take on many forms and shapes to fit a variety of purposes, be they strategic, branding-focused or related to the supply of products, services, etc.
Whatever the scope may be, successful relationships are built on these pillars, as the result of either conscious efforts or natural progression.
Partnerships are investments that take effort to build for both sides. They provide incremental value, mutual satisfaction and longevity to ultimately increase the resilience of the supply chain.
These thoughts were penned in the hope that partnerships will prove more appealing to some of us. If not, at least you’ve read an all-new analogy.
