66. Unlocking the Power of Strategic Partnerships for Your Cleaning Business
Whether your cleaning business is starting out or well established, you’re always looking for new clients.
Time to consider strategic partnerships.
Cleaning and FM companies have been working with complimentary businesses for decades.
Why?
Partnerships never go out of style.
Working with companies in other industries is an effective way to access new clients and enter new markets.
Benefits include shared expertise, competitive advantages and increased revenue.
In today’s email:
What is a strategic partnership
Identifying a strategic partner
Nurturing a strategic partnership
👇🏾 Listen: How is your customer service?
THE BIG IDEA
What is a strategic partnership?
A strategic partnership is a collaboration between two (or more) businesses.
Usually, non-competing businesses work together. They pool resources and/or finances to achieve mutual success.
Each business is able to grow at a reduced cost.
There are different types of strategic partnerships:
Integration partnerships - Integrating operations or services to make client’s lives easier.
Tech partnerships - Employing a business to deliver tech services.
Marketing partnerships - Businesses marketing each others products/services to expand their reach.
Supply partnerships - A manufacturer partnering with a vendor to stock a particular product.
Integration and marketing partnerships are the most beneficial for your cleaning business.
Identifying a strategic partner
To identify the right business, consider the following:
Complementary Strengths - Look for businesses with complementary strengths or offerings. Can a collaboration fill service gaps? Can it enhance your capabilities and provide you with a competitive advantage?
Market Research - Research potential partners extensively. Consider their market position, customer base, and growth potential.
Positioning - A company will only want to partner with you if you're in a strong position and presents value. If your business has nothing to offer, a strategic partnership will not be in their best interest.
For office cleaning, look at security, property maintenance and waste management businesses.
For domestic cleaning, look at home service, gardening and property management businesses.
Nurturing a strategic partnerships
A successful partnership requires trust, communication and a shared goal.
There are six factors to consider when building a successful partnership.
Think GROWTH:
Goals and objectives
Research partners
Open, honest and regular communication
Willing, interested and invested parties
Trust and get to know your partners
Have a joint project plan and roadmap
Goals
Have clear goals before reaching out to a potential partner.
Clarity about what you want your cleaning business to achieve will help you find like minded partners to reach those goals.
Research
Investing time and effort finding the right partner helps you avoid potential hurdles down the road.
Understand what they want to achieve and how you can support their goals.
Detailed research keeps you focused on reaching out to the right strategic partner.
Openness
Good communication is essential in a strategic partnership.
Sharing updates, feedback and insights helps both parties stay informed.
A successful partnership is one where both parties feel confident sharing good and bad news.
Willingness
The right partner is one that’s invested in the success of the partnership.
They make time to meet, provide updates and see the partnership through, even in troubled times.
You want a partner that’s willing to contribute to your shared goals and objectives.
Trust and Get To Know Your Partner
A healthy partnership is one that has trust.
You should be able to brainstorm ideas and discuss challenges.
Invest time in building a strong relationship.
Having a joint plan
Have a clear roadmap and metrics around what success looks like in the partnership.
A framework for collaboration helps to outline roles, responsibilities and expectations.
Timelines, deliverables and success metrics provide accountability and ensure progress.
Having a plan allows you to check the performance of the partnership against pre-defined metrics.
You can identify areas for improvement and refine the context of the partnership to achieve the best results.
Security companies were the most lucrative partnerships for my cleaning business.
In the first 12 months of the our partnerships, they generated at least £100K additional revenue.
That’s the power of strategic partnerships.
Content to check out
This week’s episode of The Growth Lab podcast outlines the benefits of inbound and outbound marketing for your cleaning business. Listen here.
Prefer watching over listening? Check out The Growth Lab podcast on YouTube.
Need More Help?
Want to 3x revenue growth for your cleaning business in the next 12 months? Book a call.
Email me with the growth strategy for your cleaning business. The more details you provide, the more personal I can make my response.
Join The Cleaning + Property Maintenance Support Group on Facebook and gain access to support, accountability and networking opportunities to grow your business: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1279455169412140/?ref=share
Thanks for reading!
Matt @ The Growth Lab
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