“Covid-19 is taking so much from us, but it is also giving us something special – the opportunity to come together as one humanity, to work together, to learn together, to grow together”

– Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, WHO

As our world grapples with Covid-19, and the challenges that lay ahead in the fight to combat this pandemic, it is more important than ever to have a forward focus. Studies show that a forward focus underpinned by a positive mindset, increases our resilience and with it our capacity to persevere in spite of difficulty, obstacles and challenges.

The Covid-19 pandemic is the biggest economic crisis of our modern world, and consequently, the impact on business is enormous. A recent report by Accenture titled: Managing the human and business impact of coronavirus, states, ‘The impact of COVID-19 on customers is profound and the full impact on the economy is still unknown… New habits and behaviors are forming that are likely to remain after the crisis has passed – and this presents opportunities.’

What next for your business?

Your business must look at ways to broaden its relevance to the target market, as an integral part of your business continuity and recovery strategy.

To do this you must gain a deeper understanding of the target customer, and in turn the specific needs of that customer; making these the business focus and directing the company’s resources to these areas. Furthermore, according to the report by Accenture, your customers are developing new habits and behaviour patterns, so as a business, you must also prepare to expand your company’s offering, by providing additional complimentary products or services to boost customer-engagement and the overall customer experience.

Instead of stretching your resources thinly across too many business areas however, there is a simple solution: Strategic partnerships. Partnerships in business, is a very broad concept, but at its core, can be defined as a voluntary collaborative agreement between two or more parties in which all participants agree to work together to achieve a common purpose or undertake a specific task. It involves forging an alliance (or what we call ‘cooperative arrangement’) with another business, where each party can harness the strengths and abilities of the other, within the same (or a different) ecosystem, thereby increasing the combined addressable market.

In an ever-changing and highly competitive marketplace, a well-designed strategic collaboration with relevant partners is key to standing out. And simply put, some of your marketing objectives to open up different and wider sales channels, are easier to achieve through partnerships. These partnerships can be pivotal in reaching new audiences and in expanding your overall market reach.

See below some of the brands we have worked with around the world:

At the Luxury Network, our goal is to identify and facilitate cooperative arrangements between companies. We focus on the formation, implementation and management of strategic partnerships, in particular:

• Ensuring the alignment of core values
• Establishing a shared vision
• Building partner trust
• Safeguarding against opportunism
• Mitigating risks and much more

We are delighted to introduce our new and exclusive Brand Partnerships Toolkit designed to help companies look beyond the Covid-19 crisis and connect with both new and existing customers. This unique document will provide a step-by-step guide to help you identify simple short-term collaborations, to multi-layered cross-sector partnership opportunities, that will personalise customer engagement, build visibility and influence in the emerging business landscape.

To request your Brand Partnerships Toolkit, send an email to info@theluxurynetwork.ng

We look forward to hearing from you.