31st March 2022

Selling the sizzle of a new Strategic Alliance

You may think you have done the hard work when you establish a new working relationship with a strategic alliance, but the next stage is the most important ensuring you communicate this relationship correctly to your existing clients. 

When it comes to your Strategic Alliances client communication plan, I’d suggest you adopt a five-stage process:

• Medium 

• Message 

• Moment

• Momentum

• Then Measure  

I will go through each step, but these should be included in a communications plan that is agreed, signed off and shared with your partners. The fundamental objective of this plan is that you detail agreed shared goals, identified the target audience and the dates on which you will communicate your jointly agreed messages. 

The plan should also describe the challenges you will face and how you have agreed to overcome these. 

A good litmus test for any communications plan is that it answers these five key questions:

1. What do your clients need that this partnership provides?
2. In what way does this partnership meet these needs?
3. How will you communicate the value to the customer and differentiate yourself in the marketplace?
4. What messages will help provide incremental business for both parties? 
5. What value can you highlight that will ensure you retain your clients?

Adopting the following simple structure may help you answer these questions. Let’s start with Medium.

Choosing the right medium

All effective communication begins with selecting the right medium for the clients you wish to talk to. This ensures you understand your audience, and you can concentrate on delivering the right message tailored to that segment. Selecting the correct medium can also depend on the changes or services you wish to announce. For example, You may want to consider a video to launch the new alliance. 

Alternatively , if the messages are more complex, you may want to use a medium that allows you to provide a simplified overview along with frequently asked questions. You could also have an in-person presentation to better put the changes in plain language.

Don’t be afraid to mix and match your mediums. You can send a letter and also put a video on social media. You can email your clients the information then follow up with an in-person or online meeting. 

Positioning your message 

Once you have agreed the target clients and the mediums which will reach them most effectively it’s time to decide on your key messages. 

You are not just communicating a new alliance, you are telling your clients why you have done it, the benefits it brings to them and how things will change going forward. 

It is important to keep your clients at the centre of the message. By doing this and explaining how the change improves your services for them, your audience will be much more understanding if any teething problems occur. It is also important to ensure that clients are aware of any new contact numbers etc. 

Selecting the right moment to communicate  

Many excellently crafted messages have fallen flat because it has been delivered either too early or too late.

This can be critical depending on the type of change you are announcing.

Too early and clients will switch off as there is no pressing need for action or immediate benefit for them.

Too late and perhaps your clients have found out through other sources, or you could have clients who feel  surprised and underwhelmed.

A good rule of thumb is to list out the 10 questions you believe clients will ask most often. If you don’t have answers to those questions, you probably shouldn’t communicate your message yet. 

Keep the momentum going 

Communicating change be it positive or negative is never easy but once you have delivered the message you want to give clients, you are now in what I call the support mode. You need to keep the positive momentum moving forward.

It’s about selling the excitement of a new venture and services to support your clients going forward. Ensure both parties have provided clients with a phone number or email address where clients can turn for assistance, and make sure both teams are aware of your support process before you communicate anything.

You may have some frustrated clients, so put together talking points and train your teams on how to deal with each situation before you implement anything new. Always remember that it’s desirable to continue communications throughout the transition. Yes, you may have some teething problems but acknowledge them and inform clients how you will sort them.  

Measure the results 

The final stage is to measure what has gone well and what needs to change going forward.

You may want to do a client satisfaction survey or discuss the change process in upcoming client meetings to get a better feel for how everyone feels about your new alliance. Internally, both businesses should answer these five questions, solve any issues that pop up, and repeat until all known problems are resolved.

• Have any issues arisen for our  clients?
• What percentage of our clients struggled with this change and why?
• What was the biggest issue for our clients?
• What additional communications are needed to complete this communications process?
• How can we improve in the future?

When done effectively, your communications about a new venture will create excitement for the future – for both businesses and your clients. And with the measured results and feedback you’ve received along the way, you’ll be more than ready to communicate the next big improvement coming from your new strategic alliance.

Next time I want to discuss conflict resolution in a strategic alliance arrangement.

John Joe McGinley

Glassagh Consulting March 2022

Learning & Development, John Joe McGinley, Glassagh Consulting