There is a fair amount of optimism for the continued growth of the indirect channel route to the market in 2022. But in our fast-paced and complex business world, who we partner with to achieve our goals has never been more important. In fact, we believe that 2022 will redefine how firms partner to ensure their success and survival.
The partners we pick, invest in, and rely on for business growth will be critical to the overall business plans set to guide us through 2022. Times are changing, and channel strategies need to evolve quickly to keep pace. The profile of our best partners may indeed change as well.
Here at JS Group, we are investing with our clients in a recasting of their partnering strategy for 2022 and beyond to ensure continued growth and acceleration through working with the right third parties. For partners, this could be looking at how you value your customers. For end user customers, this can be how you pick the right partners to deliver what’s needed for your business. And for vendors, you need to ensure you pick both the right customers and the right partners—no easy task.
So, if you are a partner who is looking to be that great partner to your clients or the vendors you resell, or you are the end user customer looking for that right partner, we have a little help for you. We call this the “5Cs” of a healthy partnership, as listed below. And we advise any firm working with partners or looking to be a good partner to work through them in their 2022 business plan.
- Contribution: Are all parties making the same contribution to the relationship? Is that contribution fair and equitable for both parties? If there are inequities, is the partner being fairly compensated to overcome these?
- Capability: When you put together the skills, competencies, and proficiencies of the partner, are they what is needed to give your business the confidence that you will have the capabilities needed?
- Coverage: Is the coverage model of your partnership valid? When you have issues or opportunities in a specific segment or geography, is the partner able to cover these issues?
- Commitment: What is the commitment of each party of the partnership? Are there service level agreements (SLAs) that you need to comply with if you are the partner, or is there an SLA you demand as a customer?
- Cost: Is the true cost of the partnership known? Are there hidden costs, unknown costs, or financial terms that disadvantage either party? Does the cost of the partnership still deliver acceptable operating margins for your firm?
Engage Stakeholders
Delivering on a 5C’s strategy that propels growth and ensures retention of the right partnerships, and the right progress for your business, is key. I recommend that you start with guided facilitation of the 5C’s discussion with key stakeholders both internally in your organization and externally with your partners.
These guided facilitations, or what we call “Market Action Planning” (MAP) sessions here at JS Group, have delivered over 47% average growth for our clients this past year. Why? Because when you have the right partners something magical happens—you triple the impact of your business and you see real results.
Engaging existing partners and new partners in these discussions and the forecasting of your plan together is key; well-defined partnerships lead to well-achieved results! One pothole we see clients fall into when talking about the 5C’s is they speak only to their current top partnerships, who often have a vested interest in having the discussion go their way. They’re not talking to new partners who may share a fresh insight that could move their business in a new direction. This bias-based partnership thinking must be avoided at all costs if you wish to continue to grow.
The Real Work Begins
When we conduct a MAP, we evaluate what partnerships are truly needed, how to be a good partner, and what to anticipate from a partner. We carefully identify what it takes to win and who the best partner will be for that win vs. just looking at the existing partnerships a firm has. We often have some pretty surprised clients when they see that the partnerships they thought were critical to their business are actually not helping their bottom line.
Once the 5C review is done, the work begins in earnest to modify your partnering strategy. This year more than ever, we must focus first on the smallest things that have the largest impact. This is a critical point to stress for 2022 as too often, firms try to get “fancy” when they recast their partnering strategy, as opposed to doing small things with big impact first to improve their partnering relationships to deliver a quick win and then addressing the bigger rocks.
Smaller things that make a big impact might include:
- Addressing antiquated agreements, including client-facing service agreements for partners and SLAs for end user clients. With all that has changed in the world, isn’t it time to rethink service levels?
- Fixing and addressing pricing issues. Now is the time to look at price to value and address any inequities.
- Looking at new partnerships, perhaps in a beta mode, to test how you can improve results through new and more innovative partnerships.
Accelerating Change
2022 is the year that the partnering shift that began in 2019 accelerates, with new partnering models that can fulfill customer demand for increasingly robust but simple solutions to their business needs. Be part of that evolution by taking a careful look at your partnering strategy now and profit in the future.
This article appears in the Predictions 2022 Edition of the Acceleration Economy Journal Download the Full Journal Here
