Strategic Partnerships in Business in Kenya
Strategic alliances are probably the most overlooked form of offline marketing and, yet, they’re one of the most meaningful. Two heads are better than one and, in many cases, two companies are better than one–especially when they combine resources or share expertise in order to build new business.
As business owners, providing assistance to other businesses should be a natural extension of our responsibilities. Many business owners are quite engrossed in their operations or daily tasks to assist others.
There are a host of benefits to these types of relationships, including:
- Saving money on shared strategies.
- Expanding your customer base.
- Utilizing on a partner’s expertise in a given area.
- Having a trusted advisor.
- Capitalizing on another company’s size or prestige.
FINDING A COMMON INTEREST
Some of the most popular alliances are demographic or geographic relationships. The key here is to ask, “Is there a company with a product or service that overlaps with my target audience and that I can partner with for a win/win scenario?”
Companies in the wedding business are particularly adept at demographic alliances. Olive Kitchen, a wedding catering service in Nairobi, holds a tasting event once every eight weeks. Not only do they have engaged couples try out all of their dishes, they also have on hand local florists, photographers, wedding location coordinators, and wedding planners. In this scenario, by acting as a one-stop shop for couples, every vendor wins.
Another good example of a geographic alliance is the local coffee shop that displays an impressive arrangement of fresh flowers on its front counter, provided by a florist located just a few doors down. The coffee shop receives a beautiful addition to their décor, while the florist gets to reach out to potential customers in the area that may not have otherwise been aware of its services.
Businesses need a successful community, sector or industry that creates demand for its products or services within a supportive environment. Great business leaders are also leaders in the community. In providing assistance to other businesses we are actually assisting ourselves and our business community. Strategic Partnerships in Business in Kenya is the key to growing and reaching new clients.
