During the past two decades, the business environment in general has been characterized by rapid changes. The main revolution I feel has been the transition from a sellers’ market to a buyers’ market. The sellers’ market, which was rather common in the past, refers to a somewhat monopolistic business environment where the supplier or service provider dictated the dimensions of a business transaction. Our concept of partner program is unique and innovative in today’s business era.
We are now living in a more competitive business environment, which is again a result of multiple factors such as:
- Globalization of the world economy and the changing business landscape
- Fierce competition among organizations within and across countries
- Global excess capacities in production, services, and in some areas of development
- Using new managerial approaches
- Availability and accessibility of data and knowledge
- Timely availability of materials and services
- Ease of global travel and conveyance
- Consumer having become more rational when making choices
- The huge role of e-commerce and social media
A business which works in isolation in today’s day and age, can never touch the heights it may have initially aspired to touch, simply because it cannot pursue those business opportunities which are beyond its core business functions.
History has been a good teacher. Since ages, traders and merchants have entered into Business Partnerships. Firms need a bank of knowledge to advance and prosper and having strategic business partnerships allow them to learn and grow from all dimensions.
There is no competitive advantage in being like everyone else and focusing on a handful of core competencies.
Let’s look at this practically.
What does a car company have in common with a clothing store? Nothing! Zilch!
But if the companies are freaking powerhouses like Louis Vuitton and BMW they probably should have something in common to have such a successful partnership, right?
Both companies are into luxury fashion, business or travel (cars and luggage). They are both famous and well-known for their high-quality craftsmanship and brand value which is driven by the social status that their consumers enjoy.
That is precisely why they partnered. BMW offered sports car models, while Louis Vuitton designed a set of suitcases and bags that fit into the car’s parcel shelf.
So, there you go. A perfect example of a successful business partnership.
Take another example of a successful coffee chain and a music streaming provider.
Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded in 2006. Starbucks is an American multinational chain of coffee houses and roastery reserves founded in 1971
Starbucks created a coffee shop experience with the help of music to create an ambience. They wanted to create a “music ecosystem” allowing artists to easily have access to Starbucks consumers, and vice versa, allowing Starbucks to have access to Spotify’s discography.
Partnership done, objectives met!!
What I am really trying to prove here is that, in this period, in which doing business is complicated, you must think of working with business partners who can help you to split the job, suggest ideas, and have additional skills.
Makemyhouse.com is a great believer in this ideology. Talking about the brand, it is basically an online architectural and interior design platform, based out of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, which provides design services to its clients, right from the initial floor plan,2D and 3D modeling, structure, to working.
Makemyhouse.com has completed over 14,000 projects and has also announced remarkable business growth of 33%, fueled by its industry expansion in the Middle Eastern countries and ambition for smart service, design and delivery. The company experienced a headcount growth of 40% in the first quarter of 2022.
The brand anyways has been revolutionary because it has given an all new meaning to the word “house designing” – imagine the time and effort in finding an agency, meeting civil engineers, architects and designers and combined with all this the constant need of keeping a constant communication chain- by the time your dream house is done, you would already have experienced a lot of nightmares.
Taking its revolutionary business ideologies a notch ahead, the brand has its very own Partner Program, under which it has joined hands with contractors, civil engineers and architectural firms in different cities in India, with the aim of giving customers the complete house designing services under one umbrella. This becomes a win-win situation for both, the brand as well as its partners.
The partners get access to a whole universe of “hot”leads which helps them take their business to the next level without the need of extra investments or set-ups. Coming from the same business community as its partners, the brand considers it a matter of pride to be utilizing its massive reach towards the partner program and generating footfalls for its partners.
In return, what Makemyhouse.com is gaining out of this is that it is leaving its footprints across different cities where it is not present locally and ensuring its clients wouldn’t have to worry about the execution or supervision of the house designing process. So let’s say a client hails from Hyderabad and wants a construction project executed there locally.
While previously Makemyhouse.com could provide them design services, with the advent of the partner program, the brand can now link the client to a local partner in Hyderabad who would be providing the on-spot supervision and execution of the project based on the designs of Makemyhouse.com.
In conclusion, all I can say to the business world out there is, that our world, which was already a global village, is slowly moving towards being GLOCAL(GLOBAL + LOCAL), which means reflecting or being characterized by both local and global considerations. The day is not far when ‘partnership for success” would be the key to driving business growth and profitability. Some brands have already understood this, but will others follow suit? Let’s wait and observe.
| By Kumar Vasnani |
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| Deputy Manager-Business Growth and Marketing |
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