Joining Forces: Company Collaboration Benefits

While businesses are working towards goals, competition will inevitably arise and pose some concerns within the organization. This is especially true if sales are tight between two organizations or one is outperforming the other. When this happens, brands tend to label each other as “competitors” and work hard to gain the upper hand. While this in some cases gives brands character and contributes to their public image (Pepsi Vs. Coke) other companies can be hesitant to work together even when provided the opportunity.

Yet, not every company should be quick to close themselves off to collaborations. Opportunities for collaborations should always be considered by brands, as a partnership can lead to a bigger audience. This is especially relevant in start-up companies as they are growing. Partnerships with other companies can be beneficial to their publicity. The joining of organizations can offer fresh perspectives and input from both parties aimed at benefiting both businesses.

In addition, there’s access to greater capital for both parties when their networks combine.

Now is brand partnership and collaboration necessary? No, not every company will benefit or feel comfortable merging. This is especially true if an organization has built itself to a point of high performance on its own. However, other organizations can benefit from their creative process and audience reach. A good example of a situation where mutual benefits can be achieved would be two brands targeting the same audience but providing different services.

Take GoPro and Red Bull, their products appeal to extreme sports athletes yet serve different purposes with their products. A collaboration between them opens up access to wider audience exposure, skills/experience, and advertising advantages. This is one situation where collaborations can work in many different ways. Now how can your organization apply this methodology in a way that will be beneficial?

Here’s what you can do:

Build A National Network

Expanding your reach is the ultimate goal with collaboration, what better way to do that than connecting with organizations established out of your territory. For example, if you are a Canadian company based in Ontario and the majority of your product sales are from your province, with a close second being British Columbia. Partnering with a company based in British Columbia expands your reach to their market. From there you can continue to branch out as sales and demand increase. 

Promote Your Partnership

With a partnership between brands, the influx of clientele should be maximized by promoting what you’re offering. This is when utilizing your network and social media is essential. Creative teams should develop drafts as a top priority when collaboration is official. Social media is especially important here, sharing your content is efficient and receiving feedback is much more direct than anywhere else. In addition, calls to action can be easily accessed by your audience (Instagram has a great CTA feature) so be strategic with the ad approach you take. 

Collaborate On Products Or Services

Does your business lack the ability to earn high-profile clients or lockdown contracts because the client chooses to go with a bigger or more well-known company?. At the moment of rejection, it is easy to label that company as competition. However, an optimistic leader may see an opportunity for growth. Especially as a small business, having the opportunity to partner with a larger organization can offer a bigger base for clientele.

In addition, you both may bring something to the table that the other doesn’t. Joining forces in some way can prevent missing out on sales growth and help both organizations grow.

Conclusion

Running a business is never a solo effort, it requires support from the bottom up with an endless need for collaboration within the team. This collaboration, however, can reflect beyond the team to the organization as a whole. Opportunities for partnerships can provide an abundance of learning opportunities and take an organization beyond anything it could reach on its own. Essentially it comes down to what will best benefit both parties and appeal most to the target audience. 

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!

Podcast Development Strategies

Technology puts us in a position where we can always be on the receiving end of information. They are convenient and a great way for us to keep our minds busy daily, which has led their popularity to soar. Podcasts are a product of social media's increasing popularity, their topic diversity and ever-changing guests make them one of the most popular choices for listeners. In the United States alone, there are estimated to be nearly 80 million listeners and an estimated 2 million different podcasts.

This glimpse into the market is inevitably going to grow as its popularity is increasing. On top of this, they are an incredible experience to take part in, allowing viewers to get to know you better and participants to connect with the audience. The popularity and unique structure of podcasts has inspired companies to take on creating their own. Rightfully so, as this tool drives engagement and traffic numbers through the roof.

On top of this, it expands the company's audience to people who may never have paid attention to their brand otherwise. For example, let's say a skincare company begins a podcast on how to take care of yourself. Now the audience opens from people who buy their skincare products to people looking to have a healthy lifestyle. Interaction opens up with comments, questions, and feedback.

Ultimately, this creates an opportunity for companies to engage directly with their audience and develop a connection. 

However intimidating it may be to start a podcast with no previous experience, the rewards from doing so are immeasurable. As well, starting a podcast doesn’t have to be so intimidating with the right planning. With that being said, here are some tips to get you started:

Use Your Network

When you’re starting a podcast, shout it from the mountain top, use Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, TikTok, whatever your organization is on and promote it. Don’t underestimate the power of your network, people follow you for a reason. On top of this, your pre-established audience is much more likely to give you feedback in the early days of your startup. In addition, you will be able to see the kinds of topics the audience is looking for in episodes.

Combining this with the sharing of content will allow you to gain traction and get your podcast off to a great start. 

Go On Other Podcasts 

Seek opportunities to go on someone else’s podcast, their audience development may be more advanced than yours and could lead to listeners. As well, getting used to being in a podcast setting is a great experience in the development of your podcast. With connections to other hosts, your networks can equally grow and you can receive advice from someone already in the process. 

Stay Consistent

This is relevant in creating content of any kind but it nonetheless is a part of the foundation of starting a successful podcast. The audience can begin to rely on weekly episodes and updates building the connection they have with your show. Staying consistent (no matter the number of views) nonetheless demonstrates that you are working towards improving your content. 

Plan In Advance

Keeping your content calendar up to date will require you to think about your topic, arrange guests, allocate time, the list goes on. To be prepared, always be ahead in your planning so you’re not running into last-minute ideas being thrown together. Initially, there will be some learning curves. However, once you are used to the development process, it will become a regular process in which you can always add improvements and changes.

Conclusion

Podcasts are unmatched when it comes to consumer relations, their appeal to the audience is established through their digestible delivery of information. The best ones take viewers through a conversation constructed of arguments that even lead to stories. This is what draws in viewers, and is why brands not partaking should consider what they can offer if they did.

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!

Always in Pursuit: An Efficient Leader's Mindset

Adversity is inevitable, it makes us uncomfortable and it cannot be easily overcome or ignored by those going through it. In any setting, overcoming adversity leads to achievement. This achievement will only be reached if those chasing it are willing to take action. Oftentimes the road to achievement can be intimidating and tap into the instinct we have which is to let things take their course.

A good example is in those times when we are overwhelmed, we don’t exactly see a way through and perhaps want to just take a break. The issue here is that this will never solve the issues we face and will only prolong the time taken to get it done. Instead, we must be eager to take action and face the things we dread. Now, this is much easier said than done as this is fighting against the instinct we have to let things play out. 

Accomplishing often means there’s a trade-off, and that involves going through or doing something difficult. This difficulty is what’s intimidating, we are not programmed to naturally seek out difficult tasks. Instead, we have to build this instinct so that when faced with pressure it is the habit we go to. This is why we need to be aggressive in our problem-solving and opportunity seeking.

In a business environment, deals aren’t going to make themselves, protocols aren’t going to explain themselves, and employees aren’t going to train themselves. Now, it is important to realize that “being aggressive” does not mean letting emotions get involved. It is not an excuse for leaders to abuse power or be hard on team members. It is simply taking action when action is necessary and not sitting back when faced with pressure.

Let’s look at ways to do that:

Don’t Feel Sorry For Yourself

When things happen to you unexpectedly, be prepared to pivot and turn a negative situation into an opportunity for growth. To do this, you’ll always want to ensure you make connections with people in every area you’re going after. Let’s say you lose business with a major client, the first instinct you’ll have is doubt, followed by further negativity. Yet this is not going to solve the issue and is only taking up time.

Instead, say “okay, this happened but I didn’t come this far to come this far” then define your goal and go after it. If you know people in the industry, it could lead to an open door for new business. 

Leave Emotion Out

Aggression in executing a task simply means you refuse to be complacent, you look for your next steps and get to work. It’s important to think logically about how you handle yourself in these situations. If your first reaction is to get angry and blame people for what went wrong, then you’re doing nothing but digging your hole deeper.

Whereas if you take the time to tend to the needs of those around you (co-workers, team members, clientele) and find a way out, the situation can begin to work in your favor. This will take practice as it is completely natural to react to the feelings stirred up by the situation. However, once you can stabilize your emotions and think critically, you will be able to solve the issue.

Find The Neutral Zone

Some situations may not require you to make moves urgently, for example, if the response will bring further negativity then it is best not to respond and back off. In other cases, being too adamant about just getting the job done could lead to neglecting the basics. Essentially, you want to always be moving and working towards something, but the little things cannot be left out.

This goes back to emotional intelligence, don’t be so fixated on the outcome that you are just flying through the process. Spend your time wisely, observe and adapt to the things going on to get the most out of your situation. 

Conclusion

Running a business is not a linear chart of progress, it takes risks but it also takes well-researched decisions. 90% of startups fail within their first 5 years often because they try to move too quickly too fast. Looking to achieve and just trying to achieve are two different things, and one of them is more dangerous than the other.

You want to search for opportunities, adapt to situations, always try to find a way out of a rut. Yet while you’re doing this, be someone who you would want to help yourself in these situations. Think about the ideal figure and implement the traits you establish.

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!