Using Strategic Alliances to open new doors in 2011

Growing your business means spotting potential emerging opportunities and taking advantage of them quickly, before your competitors move in. It’s difficult to break into new markets, and a partnership can bring instant access to new customers.  If your company has the technical know-how; another company can have the resources to bring that know-how to market. This year there have been rumours of a collaboration of Skype and Facebook.  The partnership will include the integration of SMS, voice chat and Facebook Connect into Skype to make Facebook a central communications and messaging platform for its users.
The Skype-Facebook tie-up will prove attractive to businesses as much as consumers, because many SMEs already use Skype as well as Facebook and Twitter.  Even if this collaboration turns out to be just rumour, it points to a natural evolutionary step of bringing together community and communication technologies, this combination could become very attractive and useful to enterprises, as well as consumers.

Alongside Facebook and Skype, two global brands, BMW and Saab are also eyeing up a possible collaboration. After turning to BMW for help with an engine to power a possible revival of the Saab 92, it seems the Swedes at Saab could be returning the favour. Since Saab has a lot of experience with front wheel drive and BMW have confirmed that they would like to create such a model, the two companies could take the collaboration to a new level. The possible partnership between BMW and Saab could mean that their 92 model and the new BMW could share the same underpinnings.  The collaboration will revolve around the production of a tear-drop shaped car, which is inspired by the Saab 92 model, produced from 1949 until 1956. To keep the mystery and secrecy around this possible new model, Saab said in an official statement:

“We indeed are looking for alliance partners but no cooperation with has been confirmed at this time. A smaller Saab below the 9-3 is not currently in our business plan though it would be on our wish list”.

So will this collaboration be the perfect partnership or will it, like many relationships have a rough patch?

Strategic alliances, if thought about, planned and implemented properly can be the perfect tool to help a business generate new clients. However collaborations are not just for big global brands, SMEs can also benefit from collaborating with like minded companies who also want to produce a clear path for new business and future success.