Unlock Growth Through Strategic Partnerships: A Guide for Agencies
Experienced in client strategy, project delivery, partnerships, brand and digital marketing, and new business development - Karolina dedicated her time towards helping businesses grow online and has had the opportunity to work alongside some of the world’s fastest-growing brands.
Back in May 2024, we hosted Karolina Kondrat at our Agency Partnerships Summit. If you missed her insightful session, here’s your chance to catch up. Download your free copy of Agency Partnerships Book for our Q&A with Karolina and more.
Are you looking for innovative ways to scale your agency? If sales and marketing are familiar territory, it’s time to look beyond them and unlock the next frontier—strategic partnerships. Partnerships are quickly becoming a key driver for agency growth, offering numerous opportunities to build new revenue streams, expand market reach, and elevate service delivery.
This guide will walk you through the why, who, and how of strategic partnerships. Together, we’ll explore the benefits, identify potential partners, and outline how to build a successful partner programme. Whether you’re new to partnerships or simply looking to refine your approach, this is your go-to manual.
Why Agencies Should Invest in Strategic Partnerships
Partnerships can become a pivotal revenue-generating avenue for agencies. Here’s why they’re a game-changer:
1. Increase Revenue Through Referrals
Partnerships offer high-quality leads through referrals, often at a lower cost than outbound sales. When you lay the groundwork for trust and mutual understanding, your partners become a valuable source of client introductions. For instance:
Upscale brands referred to tech partners can yield big revenue splits (a 10% share of a £100,000 deal results in substantial recurring earnings).
For fast-growing SMB clients, the volume may be higher but still lucrative.
2. Tap into Revenue Sharing
Properly tracked and attributed referral systems can result in significant recurring revenue. Establishing revenue-sharing agreements—typically 10–20%—with aligned businesses creates a mutually beneficial relationship that expands financial opportunities for both parties.
3. Expand Your Market Reach
By collaborating with partners, you can access their network, client base, and marketing channels to reach new audiences. Many larger tech partners have robust marketing teams, meaning they’ll assist with co-branded campaigns, helping you connect with clients you couldn't reach solo.
4. Boost Client Satisfaction
Strong partnerships open doors to additional perks for clients, such as priority support, early access to features, and tailored solutions. This leads to happier customers, more projects, greater loyalty, and increased referrals—all while enhancing your brand reputation.
5. Enhance Service Offerings
Collaborating with partners allows you to offer complementary services. For instance:
A development agency partnering with a marketing firm can provide seamless client handovers, expanding each other’s opportunities.
Working with established tech partners helps diversify services, such as specialising in email marketing with tools like Klaviyo.
The ultimate goal is a win-win-win relationship, benefiting your clients, your agency, and your partner’s business.
Identifying the Right Partners
Strategic partnerships are only as strong as the relationships that underpin them. Asking these questions can help you identify the ideal partners for your agency:
1. Do They Align with Your Technology and Services?
Start by asking yourself if their offering complements yours:
Does your team or client base actually like their product or service?
Are there gaps you’re currently unable to fill that they can cover?
2. Are They Collaborative Communicators?
Successful partnerships thrive on open communication. Collaborate with partners, ideally across multiple departments, ensuring they’re responsive to both technical and sales requests. If friction arises during initial dealings, reassess if this partner is the right fit in the long term.
3. Is There a Commercial Fit?
Evaluate whether their product or service is priced appropriately for your clients:
If you primarily work with SMBs, enterprise-level solutions may be too costly for your typical client base. Ensure there’s commercial alignment.
Are they open to revenue-sharing agreements or other forms of financial support?
4. Does Their Reputation Reflect Your Values?
When your brand aligns with a partner’s, your reputation intertwines. Be selective; their public image, values, and operations should complement how you want your brand to be perceived.
Building a Successful Partner Programme
Once you’ve identified the right partners, it’s time to create a structured programme to maximise the partnership’s potential. Here’s how:
1. Establish Clear Objectives
Define what you want to achieve before launching your partnership programme. Prioritise goals like:
Boosting revenue
Expanding your client base
Offering additional services
Entering new markets
2. Articulate Your Value Proposition
Clearly communicate what sets your agency apart in the partnership. What unique value do you bring? Mutual benefit is key—ensure your business stands out as a great partner from the outset.
3. Segment and Prioritise Partners
Focus on partners that align with your core objectives. Reassess quarterly to identify which partnerships are thriving and which need adjustment. Do not spread yourself too thin; nurturing a smaller number of high-impact partners is more effective than juggling dozens of shallow connections.
4. Maintain Flexibility
The partner landscape evolves quickly, especially in dynamic sectors like eCommerce. Stay adaptable and ready to adjust your partner programme to reflect changing industry needs and opportunities.
5. Track Performance
Implement clear, measurable KPIs, such as:
Lead generation
Revenue contribution
Marketing effectiveness
Regularly review your data to evaluate performance and tweak the programme accordingly.
The Dos and Don’ts of Strategic Partnerships
Dos:
Invest Time: Cultivating lasting partnerships takes time and effort—like any strong relationship.
Target Shared Goals: Choose partners who genuinely want to grow alongside your agency.
Communicate Regularly: Engage frequently to ensure alignment and avoid missteps.
Don’ts:
Ignore Client Fit: Avoid partnerships that clash with your client base’s needs or budget.
Overpromise: Be realistic about what your agency can deliver in the partnership.
Neglect Performance Tracking: Data-driven decision-making is essential for ongoing success.
“I think also something to consider is that partnerships is a very public facing type role for your company. So you do also want to make sure that this is someone who aligns with like the core values of your company, and it’s gonna be a good fit, because they are going to be more of a public representation of your agency.”
Transform Your Agency with Strategic Partnerships
Strategic partnerships represent a powerful opportunity for growth, combining expertise, resources, and networks to unlock new potential. By aligning with strong partners, you’ll not only improve your revenue streams but also enhance your client offerings and influence in the market.
If you’re ready to level up your agency’s approach to partnerships, start by defining your priorities, finding compatible allies, and creating a clear programme. With the right investments, the partnerships channel could well become your top-performing growth engine.
What’s your next move? Explore new partnership opportunities and align yourself with complementary businesses. The rewards—referrals, recurring revenue, and stronger client loyalty—are closer than you think.
Getting Started with Partnerships
Hiring for partnerships, especially in e-commerce agencies, is always an interesting topic, as partnerships are still a relatively new channel for many. While each agency may have its own approach, having clear values and objectives is essential. Two key principles for successful partnerships are leveraging ecosystem relationships and hiring the right people.
When hiring for partnerships, prioritise candidates with experience in e-commerce or a related field. Look for someone who has worked with other technology and service partners and has an existing network they can tap into immediately. Strong relationship-building skills, likability, and personability are must-haves, as they’ll represent your agency to potential partners. Ensure they align with your company’s values and goals to embody your brand effectively.
Relevant e-commerce experience is also important, particularly with projects like site redesigns, builds, or migrations. While deep technical expertise isn’t necessary, candidates should understand when and how to involve partners during sales or project processes.
Executive buy-in is critical for the success of a new hire. Support from leadership reinforces the importance of partnerships as more than just marketing tools—they are revenue-generating channels. Educating teams like delivery, sales, and engineering on how to collaborate with partnerships helps create alignment across the company. Consistency in supporting preferred partners ensures smoother operations and better recommendations for clients.
Alignment is especially important when choosing partnerships in specific categories. Reaching consensus on key partners and maintaining openness to new ones fosters better collaboration. Clear goals and expectations for new hires help partnerships thrive. It’s important to give them time to build value with partners before expecting measurable results. Defined KPIs, such as partner-generated revenue, referrals, lead conversions, and co-marketing efforts, provide focus and direction.
By hiring the right people and aligning your goals and values, you’ll set the foundation for strong partnerships. This approach will drive growth and help your agency succeed through effective alliances.
