Standing Back Up - Part 2
Our research on partnering and the value of strategic partnerships is as much about a corporate mindset and culture as anything else that allows these relationships to flourish. There are structured approaches used to build highly effective partnerships that drives all participants forward.
These are a brief list of basic requirements in the development of true strategic partnerships:
1. The stakeholders from each party must enter into the desired relationship as active participants in establishing and growing the partnership. The captain of that ship is the customer. Without the customer’s willingness to participate in the development of the partnership, the outcome is tenuous at best. Your corporate leadership must take ownership of the partnership. Presidents and CEO’s are needed to start and keep the flywheel spinning.
a. By investing in the partnership, you communicate to the rest of the organization that they should as well. I believe you’ll need to host at least three to four team meetings per year for the first three years of the partnership. Your partner should have equal skin in the game. Investment by each sides greatly increases the chances for success. Please don’t misunderstand me. You should expect a peer from the partner’s organization to join you on this journey. Their work should mirror yours in terms of commitment and internal work done within their company to assure promises are kept.
b. This allows you to place the necessary accountability needed on both sides of the table.
c. Your assessment of the value will encourage harder work by your team and the partners’ team as well.
d. Your vote matters the most in the partnership, period.
e. Your people seek to deliver for you. Watching them grow the partnership will be healthy for your entire company.
2. A few things I’d look for to make sure you’re working with the right partner:
a. Your partners must have a reputation for building partnerships that produce tangible value. There should be benefits as a result of the partnership. These results stand typically outside of discounts, but focus on customer satisfaction, overall improvements in productivity that may span over multiple areas within your company. These values often supersede anything you’d typically obtained from a simple discount.
b. The partner should have a culture that is designed to align with your company’s culture. This should include their people, but more importantly what are those people trained to deliver for you? What is their process for building, enhancing, and delivering their value?
c. Have them demonstrate their processes and programs they have that are designed to build value back into your company.
d. Their business model should align well with yours. Coopetition sounds great on paper, but very hard to manage in the real world. You need to look for skills that enhance both parties for mutual benefits as a result of the partnership.
e. There is going to be a need for real transparency. How do they foster a dialog with your organization that leads to real solutions that accelerates your ability to develop true market leadership? Again, enhanced scale and customer satisfaction for your base must be delivered by the partnership.
The interdependency of the companies that support the trade show industry differs from so many other industries impacted by the pandemic. The need to stand up together is absolutely essential. As we know, an unrehearsed performance is choreographed for every show by all of us that must be pulled off under extreme time restrictions so that those who come to see the result are “wowed” by the process. As you also know, this isn’t easy. Let’s stand up together!