How does one effectively collaborate with another business?

Business collaborations are an excellent opportunity to forge a relationship with another business and create something that will equally benefit you both.

Collaborations come in all shapes and sizes. You could collaborate by making a unique event that revolves around a shared passion. Like curing childhood cancer, for instance.

Or your collaboration could be based on businesses that complement your services. For example, a marketing agency would work well with a company that specializes in videography because their services can be easily intertwined.

A collaboration requires detailed planning and actionable execution, and it can be tricky to achieve this with two different goals in mind.

So, we want to offer some helpful advice on how to reach success in YOUR business collaboration. Let’s have Aliyah explain it further:

 

The Steps to a Successful Business Collaboration

 

Step #1: Find the WHO

Your first step in a business collaboration is to identify at least three companies that match your company’s target market or client demographic.

For example, if you are a pediatrician in the Leesburg area that is looking to raise awareness for childhood cancer, it might be smart to team up with another pediatrician or a program manager for a non-profit that wants to cure childhood cancer too.

 

Finding the WHO is essential because it not only gives you an idea of who to reach out to, it can also aid in defining the direction of your collaboration.

 

Step #2: Find the WHAT

Now that you’ve chosen a company and set up a meeting, it is time brainstorm your campaign. What is your vision? What is your end goal? How will you execute that goal?

Creating a list of opportunities is a surefire way to get the ball rolling on what your collaboration should accomplish.

This meeting will also serve as an indicator of whether you made the right choice with your collaboration partner.

If concepts are flowing and you are often in agreement, then it’s safe to move forward. But if your ideas are clashing and you can’t seem to reach a consensus, it’s safe to nix it and find a new partner.
 

Step #3: Find the WHERE

It’s time to narrow down where you want to go with your collaboration. Let’s say you’re the pediatrician again. You’ve found a program manager that completely agrees with your vision and wants to partner with you. You have both agreed that you want to host an event that raises awareness about childhood cancer.

Therefore, you want your collaboration to revolve around putting on this event for your local community. 

From this point, you should start outlining how you will execute your campaign. You can use your respective teams or merge them into a new one to help delegate responsibilities for your collaboration!

 

Step #4: Find the HOW

Now you have to figure out the best way to market your B2B collaboration (arguably the most critical step)! Otherwise, What’s the point of your campaign if no one knows about it?

We have found that video content travels the fastest. We recommend making a video or using Facebook/Instagram Live to build excitement around your event or partnership. If you are putting on an event, it might be smart to document it through photo and video as well. After all, people love seeing ideas come to fruition. Don’t just tell them about your collaboration, show them why they should be paying attention!

 

Business collaborations may require a bit of hard work, but they will help you improve your repertoire, expand your network, and win new business!