A common thread between businesses in any industry is the importance of partnerships - finding that complementary relationship that enables both parties to increase the effectiveness of their services and the value those services come to represent.

"Partnerships are good for business when the joint products and/or services bring value to the customer," says Don Graham, general manager of Billian's HealthDATA and Porter Research. "The value can be anything from a single source for service to the use of complementary products. Billian's partnership with Porter allows customers to use Billian's healthcare data to facilitate custom healthcare research services from Porter. It works both ways."

Recent partnerships with such firms as Business Development Advisors Inc., MedicExchange.com, and the Healthcare IT Summit have enabled Porter Research and Billian's HealthDATA - both Billian Inc. companies - to access new audiences and leverage a new set of marketing tools and business expertise.

"Targeting and developing partnerships are increasingly important as companies look for growth in a slowing economy," says Tom Sanders, President of Business Development Advisors. "Key benefits of a successful partnership include:

• accelerated speed to market;
• growing expertise/specialization;
• ability to address ever increasing and changing customer expectations;
• defending against competitive threats; and
• retaining and acquiring new customers.

Healthcare
Healthcare providers partner together to utilize each other's resources in an effort to provide better care, and to increase awareness of healthcare issues. Healthcare vendors leverage partnerships in a similar fashion, reaching out to complementary businesses in an effort to gain increased exposure and marketing resources, and ultimately, more sales leads.

"Partnerships allow companies to leverage each other's strengths without the risks of a merger or an acquisition," says Alex Van Klaveren, CEO of MedicExchange.com, a global resource for radiologists and imaging industry professionals that is at the forefront of using social media to further healthcare vendor relationships. "Partnerships have allowed MedicExchange to develop our business model by working with market leaders such as Billian's HealthDATA and Porter Research."

Market Research
Partnerships have been a hot topic in the world of market research lately. Several firms have published articles and blogs on the subject, emphasizing the need for trusted collaboration between research buyer and vendor, and the desire to increase the level of client engagement.

Sean Case, Senior Vice President of Peanut Labs Inc., writes in a recent blog post that "[T]he definition of a partnership is a business entity in which both vendor and buyer are open and aware of the objectives and understand each project's specifications. Together, both parties can develop a reasonable pricing and sampling plan, and create surveys that provide actionable research results."

Bridging the Healthcare/Market Research Gap
Partnerships can also have great cross-industry impact, as with the relationship between The Everything Channel - a leading provider of IT channel-focused events, media, research, consulting, and sales and marketing services that organizes the annual Healthcare IT Summit - and Porter Research. Summit organizers extended an invitation to Porter Research earlier this year to present a keynote at the summit in November.

"Partnerships have taken on new meaning because of factors driven by the recession along with changes in customer buying behavior," says Robert DeMarzo, Senior Vice President of Strategic Content at the Everything Channel. "Everyone is doing more with less, so partnerships allow you to leverage resources from another organization to improve the quality of your products, services or processes. In addition, many partnerships are driven by peer-to-peer interaction allowing each party to learn from one another; avoid costly mistakes; and validate decision-making in regards to a technology, content or service deliverable to your customers. So, in summary, partnerships and the art of partnering have taken on new and important meaning today."

He adds that partnerships have enabled the Everything Channel to break into new revenue streams and reduce costs - benefits also realized by the companies they partner with. "They also allow our partners to tap into an audience or customer base they might have had difficulty in addressing, opening up creative, new offerings. When the partnership is a two-way street, the partner is willing to provide feedback into our services or offerings to expand our portfolio, allowing us to further leverage the partnership for mutual benefit. Each side has to win."

Making It Work
A partnership - no matter what the industry - sounds like a win-win situation, but companies interested in developing one - whether it be a traditional market research vendor/buyer relationship or a vendor/vendor relationship - need to be aware of each other's business methods and goals. "Like most relationships, the chemistry and talents of the people are the first and most important aspect of considering a partnership," Graham explains.

Van Klaveren adds that organizations should go beyond the friendly handshake and put it in writing. "I would advise any company entering into an agreement to do your homework and speak openly with the other company about expectations," Van Klaveren explains. "Once there is agreement from both sides, don't let lawyers ruin the process - make sure the agreement is thorough, but at the same time try and get it created and signed within 14 days. (This rarely happens, but it's amazing how a deadline focuses both parties in getting this done quickly.)"

DeMarzo emphasizes that flexibility and patience are also important. "In some cases, we may approach someone to partner and get turned down only to go to that organization's rival which sees an opportunity to make gains in the market. We try to come to the table with an ROI for our partners and in a spirit to truly understand what would make the partnership beneficial."

"The partnership must always remember that at the end of the day, the focus should always be on the customer," says Sanders. "Each company should also dedicate a point person that will be the champion.

"Develop a clear, mutually agreed upon plan for the partnership, including roles and responsibilities, performance measurement, communication strategy, conflict resolution process, and defined goals and objectives," he adds. "A partnership, much like any successful relationship, needs attention and dedication to be successful."