Veronica and Jillian explore the realm of strategic partnerships, underlining the importance of shared values, creative thinking, and effective communication. They offer practical insights and resources, showcasing successful collaborations and advocating for strategic partnerships as essential for fostering sustainable business growth.
In this conversation, Veronica and Jillian discuss strategic partnerships. They address the importance of alignment in values, creativity in thinking about partnerships, and the benefits of expanding business through partner channels.
They provide examples of successful partnerships and offer tips on how to approach strategic partnerships and share resources for further guidance.
Jillian offers her perspective of strategic partners being one of the 10 vital business relationships, otherwise known as stakeholder relationships. She provides the framework she uses and resources to help others.
Veronica shares examples of work she did with a start-up community in Africa and elaborated on the importance of aligning values, having clear communication and following up at the end of the initiative.
Overall, they emphasize the significance of strategic partnerships in growing sustainable businesses.
People & Resources Mentioned in This Episode
About Veronica Guguian
- Website: https://spinideas.nl/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronica-guguian
About Jillian Vorce
- Website: https://thejilliangroup.com/better
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillianvorce
Credits
- Music Composed by BeeLa Music
- Voiceover by Amanda Balagur
Jillian Vorce
Hello. Welcome to episode 27 of creative collaboration conversations with Veronica and me. And hello. Today we're going to chat. Actually, one of our favorite topics is strategic partnerships. So kind of what, how, who, et cetera. So start us off, Veronica. Strategic partnerships. What do you think about strategic partnerships, Jillian?
Veronica Guguian
Do you know this is one of my favorite.
Jillian Vorce
Yes, yes.
Veronica Guguian
As of yours. And I think it's basically this podcast, a strategic partnership. Right. How it all started for me, strategic partnerships. There are actually several things involved in this. And were discussing, was it. I know we had an episode about creativity, but also in the last episode 26 where were discussing about work environment. Creativity is an important factor. And I think strategic partnerships are the perfect example of creativity, of changing perspective, of seeing things differently, because I think the majority of entrepreneurs or business people or professionals, when it comes to strategic partnerships, they will just go for. Okay, so let's give an example. I have a yoga clothing business, and I will think, I just need to go to yoga studios and work with them. To that.
Veronica Guguian
But what about if you're thinking differently and who's the audience, who's actually wearing this type of clothes? And of course, the people that enjoy yoga, they will do that. But how about you go and pitch mamas that they need to be comfortable, and the yoga clothes are very comfortable. So what I'm trying to say is change perspectives, look at them differently. Strategic partnerships are a way of reaching your audience in unusual way and just being present there for them. Not to sell necessarily, but to build a relationship and be creative and be unique and just, I don't know, play around with what you can do and create something new. And I feel like we talk about this endlessly.
Jillian Vorce
Sure. Yeah. I love that you bring up the creativity as a kind of critical component of strategic partnerships. I couldn't agree more with that. The way I think about strategic partnerships, or just partnerships, hopefully, that are strategic. I think of them as one of basically ten what I think of as like, vital business relationships, otherwise known as stakeholder relationships.
Veronica Guguian
Yes.
Jillian Vorce
So for me, it's one really important kind of category of all of the relationships that do exist around a business. Just unfortunately, all too often they're either dormant or just treated kind of an ad hoc rather than strategically or proactively. So that's kind of my high level kind of outlook on partnerships. In terms of strategic partnerships. The way that I kind of describe them, the way I talk about them through workshops and working with clients, et cetera, is they're a way to expand business by accessing new audiences. And that could, in turn lead to an array of benefits. Right. So it could net new customers just opportunities with all the other stakeholder relationships in your business. Right.
Jillian Vorce
But specifically in terms of the creativity, I agree wholeheartedly, because the low hanging fruit, the most conventional way to think about strategic partnerships is, oh, can this get me more customers or more exposure to customers.
Veronica Guguian
Exactly.
Jillian Vorce
So that is great. But again, there's all these other components, these other stakeholder relationships. So a couple of examples, I would say. One is media. Right? So this partnership you could create, maybe this other entity has media relationships that you don't currently have, that you may be able to gain access to. Or perhaps the partnership in and of itself will attract new media opportunities that either party individually may not be able to ascertain. Another example would be employees. Right. So oftentimes your company may end up on the radar of some ideal candidates or potential employees simply as a result of either the thing that this partnership creates or because they were already in the ecosystem of this other entity that you're partnering with. So through that partnership, you now gain access to prospective employees or team members.
Jillian Vorce
And the last one is, again, it's the customers and clients, but not in the conventional sense. It can also help to kind of reawaken previous clients or customers or maybe people that almost bought from you or almost engaged with you but didn't for some reason or another. So they weren't actual like paying customers, but they were on the fringe, and then they see you again. And because of their favorable perspective on this partnership or through this other company and their brand recognition, now suddenly you become of interest and then they become more of a motivated buyer. So I guess it's the same thing as new audience, but I just think it's a different way of thinking about it.
Jillian Vorce
So that's a little bit about how I think about strategic partnerships and frankly, robust opportunity that this topic provides in terms of helping to grow, strengthen or expand a company. So I love this topic.
Veronica Guguian
Me too. And actually you just pointed out the best part of strategic partnerships because it doesn't have just one goal or one scope. It's so multifaceted and it depends on what do you want. And that brings me back to actually why strategic partnerships are always part of the strategy. And why do you need the strategy in order to be able to do strategic partnerships properly? Because what are the main components? Right. In order to do proper, or what's the word I'm looking for a successful strategic partnership. It's about knowing your audience. Who are you targeting? So that means you do need to go and do the work. And actually we do have a spin idea as a free resource about that we're going to make sure it's linked in the notes.
Veronica Guguian
Also, knowing, and I loved what you said before and knowing your goals, where are you heading? And again, we do have a free resource for that. So we're going to plug that in as well and then being creative, because if you know what you want, and it can be the fact that you said yes, it's not only about sales directly, but it can be about brand awareness or just reaching new audiences, not necessarily to sell them now, but reminding them that you are there and reactivating what is happening or just those audiences can open your doors for something else. What is your goal? What do you need to achieve in short time and long term? And that's one of your favorite things.
Jillian Vorce
I know, yeah.
Veronica Guguian
Understanding who are you targeting? Because just doing partnerships and why. I love that. I know I'm approached by a lot of companies or partners. And I know it's your case as well. And sometimes it's very hard to see who do I want to be associated and partnered with and who I want to. And some of them are amazing. But if you really think, like, would this just consume my time without really. And can be nice, a nice collaboration, but is it actually bringing me what I need for my company, for my clients, for whatever type of partnership it is or not, then it's very easy to say yes or no. And that will free time to allocate to something that actually makes sense to build a relationship, someone that will bring what you need at that time.
Veronica Guguian
And we know we discuss quite a lot about building relationships and how to manage that, and building a relationship with stakeholders. And it doesn't matter if they're internal or external stakeholders. It requires a lot of time and energy and trust, because the trust is built over time. And we know the only commodity that we can't really, it's the most important one, is time, which is why it's.
Jillian Vorce
So critical to have the strategy and to have the awareness and be really clear about where your line is in the sand and what you're willing to contribute and also what the objective kind of result is, and ideally, mutually beneficial.
Veronica Guguian
Mutual, otherwise will not work. In my perspective, it is not mutual. And some people hate the wins element, but it has to be there and sometimes can be more for one side than the other. So it doesn't need to be equal all the time, because I think that's kind of impossible in long term, but overall, it should be equal. It will not work because that what a partnership is, right?
Jillian Vorce
Yeah. I thought I had just kind of thinking of a few examples of successful partnerships, probably that a lot of people are aware of and maybe some that people aren't aware of. But I think one of the most successful ones that just seems brilliant, I think, is the Red Bull in Gopro. Partnership. Yes. I don't know if you've seen any. Yeah. And their content and their events, it's a really great partnership. So that one also, we could say, we all know about Netflix and chill, right? So Ben and Jerry's in Netflix, so that has become a thing. And certainly Covid helped that, I would say. Another one people may be familiar with, Lisa Nichols, who's an internationally recognized motivational speaker, has a very large footprint and influence globally. So she had a recent partnership with Seth Godin, the marketing guru.
Jillian Vorce
So they had a really interesting partnership. And then another example I would throw in. There is an example of a bunch of partnerships, but also one way in which you can present them is by having a page on your website. So the B Corp has a collaboration that I can include a link in the show notes, but they just have a page on their website where they list a bunch of partnerships. And just a quick synopsis of what the partnership is about, which is a really nice way to let people know, to kind of present that, to share that, and to help shine light on all of these other organizations. So that's a nice thing. If there can be, each entity can do the same thing to help drive attention and clicks to each other. So I just thought it would be helpful.
Veronica Guguian
That's a beautiful example of partnerships and a win because Big Corp organization is also benefiting from that. But of course, companies, and you are showing them, we do have a page as well with our partners and we do what they are doing. But I just realized. Thank you. You just inspired me. Maybe we should add how do we collaborate as well, noting them, because that will actually. Oh, this is how it works. This is what I can get from them. Not just showcasing a company without any.
Jillian Vorce
Yeah, for sure. I love this and I know that, again, we both could do talk probably extensively on this topic, is a topic.
Veronica Guguian
That keeps on showing up in our episode.
Jillian Vorce
I know, but just trying to think about how to distill as much kind of value or actionable value in this conversation for sharing with each other and then for any listeners as well. I'm just trying to distill the things that I say and the things that I do that may be of use because I do quite a bit of workshops on this, and this has been a central part of my work for 20 years. And it's therefore something that I also love because it's an example of something that really brings two things together. For me. It's like the whiteboard part of me, like the creativity with the spreadsheet part of me, which is the strategy. So for me, strategic partnerships are where it's at, and it's such an amazing opportunity for small businesses and large companies alike.
Jillian Vorce
Of course, it's like there's so many things, but just a quick nutshell, simple framework. The way that I try to break it down is starting off with, first, a baseline, what are you doing currently? What's your situation, et cetera. Second, from there, I think. So you were talking the way that you go about this, I think you have a great resource to come up with the avatar, et cetera. So I'll let you talk about that. The way I do it is kind of ecosystem mapping and how I describe dual ecosystem mapping. So your own individual, your own business ecosystem, which relates to community, et cetera, as well as your target customer or whatever your project is, if it's whatever stakeholder group you're focusing on. So that ecosystem as well, in looking for those overlaps.
Jillian Vorce
So there's a really interesting kind of worksheets and workshop that I enjoy doing on that topic. Specifically, the next part is preparation. And this is a piece where most people skip right over it, kind of like you said earlier, people think it's a black, white, or like XYZ situation, and it's really not. I feel like the more preparation you can do. Yeah. You can get more creative and much more strategic. So there's a host of benefit to really spending time to be prepared. And then once you're ready to move on, the next step would be the outreach, and then the last step is the debrief or kind of the value add, et cetera. And then look for, hopefully repeat the same process with a new focus or a new initiative or a next layer of the existing initiative, et cetera.
Jillian Vorce
So that's the way I distill kind of the process of building strategic partnerships.
Veronica Guguian
Make sure you're actually putting the link to your workshop, because I think a lot of our listeners could benefit from that and make me what we need to point out. Actually, my approach is very similar. I think we are using different terms, but more or less same. What people still forget after what I'm realizing also with my clients, and it's a big chunk of the work we do, you close a partnership, you set it up. Some of them actually are good at implementing it, but they forgot to follow up.
Jillian Vorce
Yeah, that's the key.
Veronica Guguian
Exactly what we are discussing about events, when people are going meeting, but they are not following up with the meeting. Or maybe they have the meeting, but they don't follow up properly with, hey, we spoke six months ago, how about we have another check in or things like that?
Jillian Vorce
It's like the follow up is like you have to add the little sprinkle of salt at the end or the little olive oil at the end.
Veronica Guguian
Yeah, exactly.
Jillian Vorce
It is. If you don't. I made this amazing cake. It's like, yeah, you didn't frost it. It's like, oh, that's where it comes together. That's the partnership.
Veronica Guguian
Exactly. You need to follow up and you need to finalize. A lot of people. There was a study actually for sales, so I don't remember in what year was quite some time ago, but a lot of people were pitched, offer sent, but contracts were enclosed. And when they went back and asked why didn't you booked with us, the answer was very simple. You didn't ask me to. Yes, you need to ask that question. Do you want to book? Should I send you? The contract is the same. You need to follow up, you need to ask, you need to basically close the deal. I think that's the biggest problem in all businesses is not necessarily you're going to probably jump the procedures and processes. That is a big one. But even if those are in place, you still see a disconnect or something not happening.
Veronica Guguian
And actually that's the problem.
Jillian Vorce
That's the reason we do process work, is to make sure that follow up is infused into the workflow and there's a specific role, responsibility, timeline and KPIs and whatnot attached to that to make sure it doesn't get left as the follow on activity that if we think about it or when we get to it should be part of the whole for sure. Yeah, I agree.
Veronica Guguian
A small detail that actually changes everything.
Jillian Vorce
It sure does.
Veronica Guguian
That broke the camel's back expression. That small detail that actually can just.
Jillian Vorce
Yeah, because without that piece, people will say, oh, partnerships, though, they haven't worked for me. It's like, I love when somebody says that. It's like, I bet I can find out why. Right? It's like people say, oh, surveys don't work, nobody fills them out. And then you look at their survey and it's 52 questions, you're like, I think that's the issue, not the survey anyhow. Yeah. So strategic partnership wise, another way of thinking about it that I feel like may be obvious but is often overlooked is these partnerships can exist online, but also in person. It can be in your building, in your neighborhood, in your physical community, it can be through affiliate groups online. There are lots of different ways that partnerships can materialize. So I thinking online and offline.
Veronica Guguian
Is also helpful and it depends a lot on the culture. So I was working with startups in Africa and honestly, the majority of their strategic partnerships, I advise them and they did. It should be through their church because that's an important in their community, their life. Right? That's a hub. Everything happens want and especially technology wise, or they don't have access so much depending where they are, but where everything happens, the church. So you need to be creative in terms of, it doesn't matter what you're doing, your business, where is your audience who has a real influence on your audience.
Jillian Vorce
I love that you brought that up. Of course, I had no idea that you did that or that you were going to bring that up, but I love that you did, because I think it also helps to underscore what we mentioned earlier. And that is the opportunity of strategic partnerships is far beyond just simply customer acquisition. It's much bigger than that. And so that also kind of a nod to the creativity and the willingness to think kind of bigger, picture more creatively about the opportunities with partnerships. So just sprinkle a few on the table quick and then we'll move on. One is just comarketing opportunities if you provide kind of some sort of complementary service or product, or have shared audience or same customer, similar customers, something like that. So the co marketing one is the one that's probably more common.
Jillian Vorce
Another, which is what I thought of when you were talking about the startups in Africa, and it's applicable to everybody, whether you're in Africa or if you're in New York City, is looking for opportunities to share resources. That could be physical space, it could be data, it could be energy, it could be materials, anything. So looking for opportunities to share resources, that can be a successful partnership. It could even be like carpooling together. If you are in an office building, you could lead that and say, oh wow, there's six of us that all live in this area and kind of be the lead in that initiative.
Veronica Guguian
So there are lots of parents with kids.
Jillian Vorce
Yes, that's the hub of partnerships, I'll tell you. Exactly. Yeah, just another quick point. Oftentimes partnerships can feel really too big or overwhelming and not know where to start. So one way to dial it back in a simple way is to think about even hosting an event. So a lot of businesses feel apprehensive about being hosting the event themselves, but by creating a partnership, then you can share the workload and share the expense that cost the time, blah, blah, but also therefore produce often a better event. So hosting an event or building something together, maybe you want to have like a community garden or something that your company is going to help facilitate, but it feels a bit much. That's an awesome opportunity to seek out targeted partners in the community, to be able to work together on that initiative.
Jillian Vorce
So something that could add a little light and love to your community again, online or offline. And the last is kind of the real big opportunity, I think, is create or identify an initiative that you would really love to be involved with. And this is where it's really great for even a small business. Actually, it reminds me of a company I know in New York that's in healthcare, and they had this aspiration to build a really large healthcare technology conference. And so what they did is they decided to be very creative about it and to collaborate by bringing in their competitors. And they all together hosted this large conference together. So it was an opportunity to create those partnerships which together helped to magnify the scope of the work they were doing with healthcare technology.
Veronica Guguian
We did the same, actually with marketing for good event, where we invited profits and we invited all the marketeers we know just to help them bring their costs to life or to generate whatever the need was, is the same. Use your community to do something good.
Jillian Vorce
Absolutely. For sure. We could roll on and on with this topic, and now, like, we should talk more about this.
Veronica Guguian
I think we're going to have a very long episode again, I think we need to structure it or to split it in several. But what makes fitting, actually, and what is most important, and I really want to make this point or have this point across, is bottom line, is alignment of values when you're looking for a partner. So everything that we shared stands. But for me, the most important is when choosing or saying yes to a partnership is making sure my values and my partner's values are in line, because otherwise clashes when it comes to implementation or when it comes to follow up or in terms of how the communication and the relationship is going, they will appear. But as long as you share the same values and goals, that will go smoothly or smoother. Of course, we are humans. We are not perfect.
Veronica Guguian
But then it's easier because you know where you are heading and you are using the same tools, so it changes the way of working.
Jillian Vorce
Yeah, I love that you said that. I feel like that's almost like the mic drop. Yes. That's the thing about strategic partnerships, because without that alignment of values, it's definitely not strategic.
Veronica Guguian
Exactly. I think that's the keyword.
Jillian Vorce
Sure. So I know you have some resources that are helpful for folks on this topic of strategic partnerships. So we can perhaps include those links in the show notes and on the episode web page. And I'll throw the link in there as well to the workshops that I do on this topic. Hopefully you have a date for the next one. There's a bunch of dates, so if they click the link, they'll be able to see the dates that are coming up. And then we also break it down by the individual stakeholder relationships as well, to be able to work on the granular pieces of them. The partnerships is one and then all the other stakeholder relationships as well. But yeah, can check out the link in the show notes.
Veronica Guguian
Whoever is looking for a strategic partnership or doesn't know how to start, make sure you're just checking the dates of Jillian's workshop because I can guarantee they're brilliant. So you want to go?
Jillian Vorce
We'll have fun. We'll have fun. Yeah. All right. So for now, for this conversation, this is strategic partnerships. I feel like I almost want to say part one, but then also we've talked about. So I guess it's like, to be continued, perhaps.
Veronica Guguian
I have a feeling this topic will keep on coming because it's that important. It's that important. And always new things need to be added to it. So let's keep it cool. But I wrap up for this one.
Jillian Vorce
Yeah. It was nice to have had it with you. So enjoy the rest of your day and thanks for those who listened.
Veronica Guguian
See you and hear you next week, actually.
Jillian Vorce
Cheers.