“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much” – Helen Keller
The journey of running your own venture is often tough and lonely, especially if you are a small business. In India, small and medium enterprises have now come of age, and are as much keen to explore growth avenues through partnerships as the larger businesses. Several forums such as Global SME Partnership Summit by SME Chamber of India, India SME Forum, and Global SME Business Summit foster partnership between SMEs. However, partnerships are not limited to inter-SME engagements. Several instances where small businesses have partnered successfully with larger enterprises are also seen.
But why do business partnerships matter? And most importantly, should you explore partnership opportunities for your business?
Attaining Cost Leadership
There is a limit to the cost savings that can be attained through automation, technology, and cheap procurement. Efficiency has its boundaries, and when the threshold is reached, it is best to find a partner who enables substantial cost-savings through shared facility and/or shared technology, leading to economies of scale.
For example, a manufacturing unit could potentially partner with an automation company to utilize beta version of the technology at lower cost for a given period, while enabling beta-testing for the automation company.
Leveraging Credibility
Small businesses often face the problem of lack of credibility among masses, as the resources required to build reputation at a large scale is often not available. The solution? Join hands with a business of repute, and piggy-back on their brand recall. Of course, your partner should also have something to gain in the deal – for example, you could give them access to your intellectual property (such as your enterprise patents).
Increasing Distribution
How many times did you feel that you have a great product but not the means to reach your customers? The best way to work around such a scenario is to get a distribution partner on board. Tag yourself to their network and let your product spread wide quickly. Usually, such partnerships are not possible with competitors. You can look for businesses with complementary products instead. Example, if you are a tea manufacturer, you could partner with a milk marketing business for distribution.
Entering a New Market
Are you a business owner in Gujarat looking to enter the market in West Bengal? Look before you leap! In India, regional market strategies often fail when cultural differences arise, especially as far as marketing and distribution are concerned. Find a partner in the market you want to enter. Make sure the business has been there for a while and understands the local consumer behaviour. Apart from cross-learning, you can also make use of a lot of their infrastructure and network instead of building everything from the scratch.
Tapping into Talent Pool
Such partnerships are rare in India, but are extremely beneficial for businesses in niche industries where human resources are hard to find, or too expensive to manage. Share your talent pools to minimize cost and time on critical human resources. Alternatively, businesses can also partner with each other to leverage each other’s managerial expertise.
Curbing Competition
The best way to kill enemies? Make them your friends! Tie up with competitors and end that loss-making rivalry. Grow together, and serve your customers better. Remember, some industries are restrictive in terms of whether partnerships are allowed between competitors, and if yes, to what extent.
Now that you have an overview of why business partnerships matter, explore thousands of opportunities at IndiaBizforSale.com today and find the ideal match for your business! For any queries or clarification, please contact us here.