Complementary branding has a fairly simple goal: to increase your business’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA. Put another way, the purpose of complementary branding is to increase your revenue and build an ever-larger market share for your company.
Of course, complementary branding doesn’t always work out in the long run. If you would like to learn more about how to ensure success for your next complementary branding partnership, read on. This article outlines four key components of successful complementary branding, thus providing a reliable framework on which to build your next partnership.
Read on for important aspects to keep in mind when considering a complementary branding strategy.
Product Synergy
In many cases, complementary branding partnerships involve one business hosting a guest brand in their space. This strategy can help to make up for weaker day-parts in the host business. For instance, a fast food restaurant may find themselves struggling to generate competitive amounts of profit during the morning hours.
Such a restaurant might choose to shore up that weaker day-part by partnering with a well-known coffee company, which will draw in more customers thanks to its built-in brand recognition. You can see this very example at play with Starbucks coffee’s “We Proudly Serve®” locations,” which allow businesses to capitalize on Starbucks’ popularity.
The success of complementary branding in such cases hinges on product synergy. You always want to partner with a company that offers products adjacent but not identical to your own. Ideally, the products of each business should complement one another in a way that will ensure both brands to enjoy continued growth.
Resource Efficiency
A well-designed branding partnership should offer efficiency benefits for both businesses involved. Imagine that the restaurant in the example above decided to add coffee to its offerings on its own. This would require the business to invest in large amounts of equipment, find a reliable coffee source, and train employees.
Partnering with an existing coffee brand eliminates most of these needs. Instead, that partner company will supply the equipment and coffee necessary. In some cases, the partner company may even take charge of transferring or hiring new personnel to operate their equipment.
Meanwhile, that second company enjoys an efficiency boost of their own. Instead of finding, leasing, and setting up a brand new location, they can conveniently move into the pre-existing restaurant. Partnerships that don’t offer these kinds of efficiency benefits to both businesses seldom succeed in the long run.
Consistent Values
The kinds of strategic factors outlined above play a huge role in how impactful a complementary partnership will be for your business. Yet other less tangible factors must also be taken into consideration. Such factors include things like the company’s brand identity, marketing strategies, and methods of customer engagement.
These sorts of avenues are where a company’s core values are given their most direct expression. No matter how advantageous a partnership may be on a nuts-and-bolts level, if the two companies don’t share core values the partnership may fail to deliver the desired results. Ideally, your core principles and beliefs should align as closely as possible.
Open Communication
A complementary branding partnership means you will be working closely with another company to achieve a common goal. No matter how clear-cut the strategies involved may seem, challenges will always arise. The secret to success lies in establishing a trend of engaged and open communication starting from day one.
If you slack in this department when things are going well, you may find yourself struggling to develop productive communication strategies during more difficult times. Communicate your visions and goals clearly. The two companies should also outline communication protocols for attending to whatever challenges arise during the branding partnership.
Complementary branding partnerships can deliver huge rewards when carried off correctly.Give these four key components of successful complementary branding a try.To learn more about how to effectively strategize your next branding partnership, read my Ultimate Guide to Complementary Branding or contact us and let’s discuss your ideas.