In today’s competitive business landscape, strategic partnerships have become critical for growth. 

While conventional, general partnerships predominantly aim to enhance value for internal participants, strategic ones are synergies between two or more entities that pool various resources to create a competitive advantage and achieve broader objectives. These can be innovating, entering new markets, or boosting brand awareness, to name a few. 

Why partnerships are important

Especially in fast-paced sectors such as tech, strategic partnerships are paramount. For instance, a PwC report found that in the TMT — Telecom, Media & Technology — field, over 75% of CEOs consider them critical to their business. This happens for various reasons, such as reducing costs, mitigating risks, and diversifying their monetization avenues.

In certain tech sub-segments, such as the metaverse, innovation partnerships matter even more. Two Meta executives, in a Harvard Business Review article, mentioned another study in which 94% of tech executives surveyed think of them as vital for their plans. 

To further illustrate their significance, here are some valuable benefits successful alliances can yield:

  • New customer acquisition and market expansion: By leveraging your partner’s audience and network, you can double your potential clientele. This means an opportunity for free advertising in an untapped market. 
  • Enhanced value for current clients: Improving the customer experience fosters loyalty and growth. 
  • Improve brand awareness: By associating with reputable partners, you can increase your visibility and recognition, as well as your credibility. 
  • Reduce costs: Sharing resources and infrastructure can help you achieve considerable efficiencies and lower expenses. 
  • Boost revenue: Joint ventures and co-marketing campaigns can maximize sales opportunities through cross-selling and upselling. 
  • Bolster innovation: Collaborative R&D efforts and the opportunity to access your partner’s technologies and ideas can stimulate creativity and lead to breakthroughs.

Big Tech partnerships vs. Emerging businesses and startups

In the Big Tech sphere, there are myriad examples of fruitful collaborations. Microsoft is one of the most prominent examples of this — the major part of its commercial revenue comes through its partner ecosystem, which welcomes over 7,500 new partners per month. 

Zoom’s Global Partner Program has similarly spurred substantial success, and 70% of the company’s business with the U.S. Federal Government has been a result of this initiative. For HubSpot, a SaaS company, leveraging strategic partnerships created a sales channel worth over $100 million.

However, Big Tech organizations are not the only ones that can leverage the benefits of strategic partnerships. 

A remarkable example here is a partnership between FreeNow — one of Europe’s top mobility apps — and Tech Barcelona, the city’s leading private, non-profit association in tech, demonstrating the impact that well-ingrained synergies can create — in this case, redefining urban mobility in Barcelona. 

This is accomplished by promoting environmentally-friendly modes of transportation, sharing technological expertise, enabling data collection and analysis of Barcelona residents’ mobility patterns and improving accessibility, ultimately resulting in a more sustainable and connected city. 

Further success stories include a partnership between Headspace, the popular meditation app, and Pangaia, a renowned brand in the sustainable clothing field. Together, they created a clothing collection that amplifies both companies’ values, and that allows them to connect with each other’s audiences. 

Limited edition merchandising and a unique art exhibition also took center stage in a collaboration between Pokémon and the Van Gogh Museum, which resulted in a complete sellout. 

Key components to build a successful partnership

If I could choose an essential element of a thriving alliance, it is communication. When communication channels are open, and there is transparency, trust grows, and problems can be solved better. 

Here are four steps that can help along the way. 

  • Identify potential partners and objectives: Before a partnership starts, you must clearly define the goals and expectations for both parties. A lack of alignment in this regard can lead to immediate failure. 
  • Establish trust: Having a culture of openness and fostering dialogue helps everyone build rapport and establish a better working dynamic. Investing time in getting to know each stakeholder involved — and understanding your differences — facilitates smoother collaboration and decision-making. 
  • Outline clear terms and conditions: Having contracts and detailed agreements in place to delineate roles and responsibilities protects the interests of all parties. Here, I recommend defining KPIs and milestones to measure progress and know when to make adjustments. 
  • Proactively evaluate and manage the partnership: The metrics mentioned above will help you see how the partnership is performing, and implement feedback mechanisms to promptly adapt to challenges, as well as to changes in the market or organizational priorities.

Final thoughts

The business world is constantly changing, and to thrive, strategic partnerships are key. This is especially important in the ever-evolving tech industry. 

However, many things need to be taken into consideration for an alliance to succeed. Companies need to be adaptable, forward-thinking, and open to collaboration across industries and geographies. Additionally, communication is key. Being clear and open from the get-go sets the right tone for collaboration, ensuring expectations and objectives are aligned and efforts are mutual. 

With the rising development of innovation hubs and ecosystems, I anticipate that the strategic partnership trend will continue. Capitalizing on the opportunities these hubs provide can be of particular benefit for emerging businesses, as it can enhance their growth and help them scale sustainably by working with more established partners.