Working in partnerships…it just makes sense!
Working in partnership… it’s a phrase that can sound cliched, isn’t it? The number of companies that say ‘we work in partnership with you’ in their brochures or on their website copy can leave you feeling immune to what that even means!
What does working in partnership look like? What does it mean for the customer, and why is it important?
What is a partnership?
A quick google of the definition of partnerships shows an association of two or more people or parties working together.
Coalition, association, collaboration and cooperation are useful synonyms that are presented when you look up partnerships.
In the business world, essentially, it is companies coming together to showcase their support of each other and how they work together for both mutual and customer benefit.
Working in partnership with other companies has multiple business benefits. It always has, but never more so as we negotiate the changing post-pandemic world.
Benefits of Partnerships
As a business, your expertise will typically lie in one core area. Working with another company or even another business leader allows you to better support your customers with wider issues.
Here are just some of the benefits of creating and working in partnerships with third parties:
– Demonstrate your accountability – partnering with your relevant industry governing body is a great way to demonstrate your commitment to the sector. Most industry bodies will have joining criteria, so you’ll need to show you meet their quality standards and entry requirements.
– Share discounts, referrals or joining bonuses – as an introductory offer, your partners can share incentives to their customers to work with you and try your products or services. This works particularly well when you partner with complementary companies. For Remus, we provide rewards to our contractors, but we know they also need the services of umbrella companies, so we partner with multiple umbrellas like Dasa, Brookson One, Paystream, and iConsult.
– Increase customer satisfaction – if you offer reciprocal discounts on your partners’ products and services and an extensive choice for your customers, their overall satisfaction will increase. Essentially you start to become a one-stop shop for your customers. Think of it in terms of a gym. You go to the gym, and you will need workout wear, you might want healthy snacks, you might even be tempted to buy your equipment. Your gym is likely to offer partner incentives and recommendations to save you shopping around. Satisfaction boxes ticked all around!
– Improve customer loyalty – with increased customer satisfaction comes increased loyalty. A better customer experience means that person is far more likely to stay with you as a supplier. After all, we are human and especially over the last year, or so, we remember how we’ve been treated. Plus, happy customers talk, they are more likely to leave a positive comment about you on review sites, and they will be more likely to recommend your services to others.
– Deepen your sector knowledge – you’re an expert, your partners are experts. By getting your heads together and sharing what you know, you will deepen your market knowledge. Think about trends, buyer behaviour, typical objections or customer needs and especially think about how these have changed since Covid came into our lives.
– Sharing ideas and best practice – along with deepening your sector knowledge, working in partnerships allows you to share more ideas and find out best practice. That could be anything from what technology people are using to how they’re negotiating HR issues like remote working. We’ve all been through that over the last year or so!
It makes so much business sense to work in partnerships, but alongside that, it makes personal sense. You get to expand your personal network, meet some like-minded individuals, and who knows, you might even meet contacts or friends that will support your business for years to come!
Some of our fantastic partners at Remus include recruitment bodies like TEAM, the REC and APSCo. We also work with contracting bodies like the FCSA. For payroll platforms, we work with the likes of Octopaye and TBOS. That’s aside from all the wonderful partners with whom we offer contractor rewards.
Who could you approach today about working in partnership?
Remus Rewards
Remus Rewards, a division of People Value Limited, is an REC, FCSA and APSCo Business Partner, a TEAM Service Provider and a market leading provider of reward and loyalty solutions. We specialise in providing solutions to the contractor and temporary labour market across the UK. By using our cloud based reward technology, businesses can improve their proposition, performance and increase engagement, morale and loyalty. Take advantage of savings on high street shopping, including 7 major supermarkets, eating out, special rate cinema tickets, discounted gym memberships and our Fuel Card which offers discounted fuel at over 35% of the UK motorway service stations.
