Joe Crafton says alliances can make a company stronger
because a great alliance can provide a product or service that’s
missing in the marketplace. Even a good alliance can provide
referrals for new business and a cooperative spirit that bolsters
both businesses involved.
But alliances are tricky to form and time-intensive to manage.
Crafton was president of strategic alliances for CROSSMARK from
2003 to 2008 and recently moved up to president of the sales and
marketing services company. Headquartered in Plano, CROSS-MARK has 18,000 employees, and last year, it had more than $500
million in revenue.
Since his position was created in 2003, Crafton has spent the past
five years looking for other companies to partner with to help each
other reach customers. The best of these strategic alliances is with
Nielsen, the company responsible for measuring consumer interest in products.
“The synergy that comes from two companies that are dedicated
to helping fulfill each other’s core businesses is very powerful,”
Crafton said.
He says research indicates that more than half of alliances fail.
“But that’s still ahead of the fact that about 75 percent of new
ventures fail,” Crafton said. “Alliances are still ahead of new ventures.”
Here’s how Crafton creates alliances that work.
