Portfolio Review
Part of Managing a partnership portfolio
Balancing a few deep alliances with a wider partner network
Decide which partners need sustained joint work and which can serve a defined specialist role in a wider network.
Give sustained attention to partners whose customer work needs continuing joint decisions. Keep a wider network for specific questions with less coordination. Match the mix to the work and the team’s capacity; there is no fixed ratio of deep alliances to network partners.
Define the value of a deep alliance
A deep alliance might maintain a joint offer, repeated education or a connected customer workflow. State the customer task that benefits from continuing cooperation. If depth mainly means more meetings and prominent logos, clarify the purpose before committing more time.
For each proposed deep alliance, identify what both sides must keep current: claims, specialist availability, approvals, support routes and customer-facing material. Name owners who can decide on changes. When judging capacity, include maintenance work between launches.
A wider network can still provide expertise for a topic, location, customer stage or introduction. Record the specific contribution and how to confirm the partner is available when needed. Do not present an untested contact as an established joint solution.
Choose the level of commitment
| Decision | Deep alliance may fit when… | Wider network role may fit when… |
|---|---|---|
| Customer need | A connected task recurs and both parties contribute throughout | A distinct question appears occasionally |
| Coordination | Offers, claims or delivery need continuing joint review | A defined input can be checked for one activity |
| Capacity | Named owners can maintain the work | Standing work would displace other commitments |
| Customer promise | Both teams can support a bounded joint proposition | The role is limited to specific expertise |
This comparison chooses a level of work, not a partner’s worth. An alliance can be deep for one use case and have no special role elsewhere.
Preserve room to choose
Check existing terms before promising a preferred partner continuing access to a category, channel or customer group. Have the agreement owner assess a proposed restriction before you offer it.
Where several partners serve a similar need, explain which has a continuing role, which may contribute specialist input and which is a candidate for a later activity. Do not imply every network member has the same campaign entitlement.
Rebalance as the work changes
At review, ask whether each deep alliance still needs continuing coordination. Ask whether network partners have supplied useful specialist contributions.
A delayed campaign alone does not justify reducing a role; examine its cause and the current customer need. One successful contribution does not by itself justify a standing program.
Move a relationship deeper through a limited activity that shows both teams can deliver and maintain an accurate customer promise. Reduce standing work when the joint use case narrows, subject to existing rights and obligations.
If shared material remains public, confirm who may use and correct it. IP Australia advises collaborators to clarify whether they will use background or third-party IP, who will own and manage any project IP, and who will own and use other material created.
