These days there’s several acquisition strategies available to business development professionals: the likes of TV and print advertising, telesales, email-marketing, social media, special events … and the list goes on.
However, there’s one avenue I really feel shouldn’t be overlooked because, if you get it right, you’re in for some serious returns – and with minimum cost or effort on the part of your sales team. I’m talking, of course, about the benefits of Channel Partners.
Partnering with referrers and resellers, or forming strategic alliances with certain companies within your business sphere, is a fantastic way to accelerate customer acquisition. After all, both parties benefit from the existing customer relationships of the other – and this means less risk and faster sales for all. Think about it: if you partner with a company who already deliver great products and services to customers, and who have established a bond of trust between themselves and their customer-base, then who better to inform your approach when it comes to targeting those customers yourself?
Suddenly, your sales pitch is made simple!
Of course, the big incentive when it comes to partnering is to increase the market reach and presence of your own company. If you’re working with a credible company that shares your ethos and already works in an area you want to expand into, then your brand is stronger and more influential with them by your side (and vice versa). Again, with minimal investment and effort from your own team, partnering is a great way to open doors that, otherwise, you may have been knocking on for a long time. You are far stronger together than as competitors for potential customers’ attention.
All of the above is made impossible, though, if you fail to choose the right partner.
It’s important to choose a partner with whom you have synergy. After all, without a similar target-market in mind, it becomes difficult to utilise one another’s contacts and client base with a view to increasing your own presence and brand.
It’s also important to choose a channel partner that shares the same values as your own company. For example, LibertyPay offers a refreshing and simple approach to payments and we value customer-service and flexibility first and foremost. For this reason, it wouldn’t do for us to partner with a company who are more volume-based or that compete solely on price (often to the detriment of service). Just by association doing so would damage the brand we have worked hard to cultivate and do more harm than good – even if we did win some quick sales from the partnership.
In closing, partnerships can and do form win/win alliances so long as you choose the right partner for you. Overlapping target-markets, brands, and values can mean an incredibly strong alliance that might just increase your success significantly.