Nicholas Dean discusses how strategic partnerships and alliances can provide benefits to agencies and their clients. Partnering with complementary companies allows agencies to offer more services without developing new divisions internally. It provides clients with a total solution from a single source more quickly. To be successful, partnerships require trust between companies that share values and clear expectations about each party's contributions and benefits. Regular communication is also important to facilitate collaboration.

1. corporaterewards.co.uk
Strategic Partnerships and Alliances
(SPA)
Nicholas Dean, Director of Strategic Partnerships and
Alliances, Corporate Rewards

2. • Nicholas Dean, Director of SPA at award-winning incentive
recognition and reward, motivation and events agency Corporate
Rewards, presents how strategic partnerships and alliances can make
all the difference.
Strategic Partnerships and Alliances (SPA)

3. • Clients are increasingly demanding.
• Agencies are expected to provide everything:
Setting the Scene
Marketing
Events
management
Online
platforms
Employee
Engagement
programmes
Rewards and
recognition
Customised
rewards
fulfillment
Comms

4. • Strategic Partnerships and Alliances (SPA) can make all the
difference.
• Identify like-minded agencies that differ from, yet complement your
own.
• Build a partnership that intertwines your services and extends your
portfolios - giving you multi-channel expertise.
• Take advantage of the pool of industry knowledge already out there.
• Creating new service divisions can be costly, time-consuming and, if
done badly, ineffective.
• Partnerships add value to clients by providing a total solution in a
single package.
• RFPs including a reward and recognition element demonstrate this
benefit, as many agencies could not respond independently.
Why Partnerships?

5. • Collaboration is the name of the game.
• Both parties need to:
– have the same end in sight
– be willing to compromise
– work towards mutual rewards, rather than thinking of their own
individual business only
• Working with a partner can:
– significantly broaden your service offering
– provide scope to work with a wider range of clients
– give your existing clients an improved and more varied service
– provide your business with an additional revenue stream
Collaboration

6. • A strategic partnership or alliance can give your business a mighty
step up.
• But it must be done well!
• Following a few simple, golden rules can help to ensure that your first
steps down this road are in the right direction…
Five Top Tips

7. • Partnering with another business gives them access to your clients,
and you access to theirs.
• This is a real leap of faith and trust is implicit in the arrangement.
• The two-way set-up helps to reassure both parties.
• Like-mindedness is vital.
1) Trust

8. • Choose a partner who shares your core values and work ethic.
• Check that processes and policies tie in, such as ISO9001. Easy to
overlook, but potentially tricky down the line.
• The personality fit has to be right, not just for day to day interaction,
but for clients too.
• Clients buy in to agency personality as much as service; this needs to
match for a happy ending!
2) Chemistry

9. • Any partnership or alliance must be a two-way deal.
• No one party should provide the lion’s share.
• A disproportionate partnership is destined for resentment and a
breakdown of the relationship.
• This is particularly true of financial arrangements.
• A balanced framework builds trust, and confidence in referring your
partner directly to clients.
3) Equitability

10. • Managing expectations is incredibly important.
• Both parties need to know exactly where they stand, how much they
need to put in, and exactly what they are set to gain.
• Teamwork requires transparency, with realistic expectations agreed
from the beginning.
• This makes the end goal more achievable and more satisfying, as
both parties know their roles and requirements to get there together.
4) Clear Expectations

11. • This is another area that requires aligned attitudes and a balanced
share.
• Frequent contact between partners is vital, without going overboard.
• Neither party should micromanage the other, but both should expect
to be kept up to date.
• Regular updates keep things moving and provide information to filter
through to clients.
• Putting discussions into practise facilitates synchronicity and proves
that the partnership is working.
5) Two-way Communication

12. • Considered and carefully set up Strategic Partnerships and Alliances
will improve services to your end-users and benefit your business.
• For you the perks include:
– additional revenue streams
– improved service offerings without financial investment
– increased pitch-winning opportunities
– stronger client relationships
• For your clients:
– deployment is quick
– delivery times are shortened
– more services and expertise are provided by a single source
– management time is simplified and reduced.
• It’s a positive experience all round.
Take your business to the SPA

13. www.corporaterewards.co.uk/blog
@CorpRewards
Connect with corporate-rewards-uk
Call us 0370 405 2020
Let’s start the conversation
Find out more

14. Call us 0370 405 2020
8 The Courtyard, Timothy’s Bridge Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. CV37 9NP
email us enquiries@corporaterewards.co.uk
corporaterewards.co.uk