Partnership can increase your customer's dependence on you, and strengthen long-term relationships. Customer partners are seeking technical expertise, co-operation, and often, total solutions. List the qualities that are the most important to your customer. Consider how you could contribute to the achievement of their aims, and prepare a plan for increasing your involvement.
Checklist
1. Increase customer dependency - Understand a customer's business goals to demonstrate how your products or services can help them to achieve these objectives.
2. Demonstrate commitment to the business - Demonstrate your readiness to make a major contribution to the future of your industry joining industry associations or becoming involved in collaborative processes.
3. Clarify your future direction - Information on your future range of products or services will help your partners to develop their own long-term plans.
4. Use your market experience - Your market knowledge may be specialised, focused on specific niche markets or sectors that are of interest to your partners.
5. Offer technical expertise - Provide examples of technical innovation or leadership will demonstrate your existing capabilities, but partners are also interested in your potential for future development.
6. Emphasise your financial stability - Doubts about your financial stability will make customers unwilling to commit themselves to full partnerships with you as the sole supplier.
7. Promote quality processes - Quality processes ensure that your partners enjoy the highest standards of service.
8. Demonstrate adequate resources - You must demonstrate you have the resources to provide the level of service your partners need, both now and in the future.
9. Provide total solutions - As well as providing specific products and services, you can support your partners with other added-value services, enabling them to gain maximum business benefits. A total solution might include consultancy, project management, implementation, or training and facilities management.
10. Demonstrate a policy of collaboration - To prove that you can make partnerships work, quote other examples of collaboration or partnerships that you have been involved in.
Do’s and Don’ts
Do:
Research your customer’s business goals.
Demonstrate your commitment to your customer’s industry.
Promote your market knowledge and experience
Don’t:
Underestimate the importance of financial stability.
Just focus on specific products or services, try to offer total solutions.
Forget to promote quality processes
Click here to return to the Checklists
| Information
supplied by Business Insight Central Library, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham. B3 3HQ Tel: 0121 303 4531 Email: business.library@birmingham.gov.uk www. birmingham.gov.uk/businessinsight www.bestforbusiness.com |
Alternatively,
click here for our Know
How Guides. |
Golden Entrepreneurs: Disclaimer Notice GoldenEntrepreneurs.com does not have any responsibility for, or be liable in respect of the content or accuracy of the information so provided, or for any errors or omissions therein. |
The
Information provided is generic and is researched using a variety
of sources. Major sources are acknowledged. |