Samuel D. Stanovich is the Franchise owner of Firehouse Subs Stone Park and the founder of Stanovich Hospitality Inc, a hospitality group with a primary focus serving Northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana for Firehouse Subs. Sam is a member of the IRA’s Advisory Council, member of the IRA Government Relations and Membership Committees.

Partnerships with a Purpose

by Sam Stanovich

Building Partnerships Through Community Engagement

Our group has a fundamental belief that all restaurants are local. Whether a franchise or independent, your restaurant is local to your community area. Odds are that you have signed a ten-year lease or purchased a building, and therefore you have locked into a community for a period. It’s important to embrace the location, settle in, and invest the time for long-term growth. First and foremost, you need to understand your community and start creating “Partnerships with a Purpose”. Partnerships with a Purpose should be part of your business strategy. 

To be successful at developing your partnership strategy you must understand the three objectives of Partnership with a Purpose: Purpose, Productive, Profitable. 

Purpose: you must have purpose for your restaurant or personally be involved with the partnership.  If there is no purpose it should be considered a sponsorship - write your donation and move on. If it’s a partnership, it means it will involve time and money for it to be successful. The purpose should be mutual. Both partners should be engaged and supportive of each other.

Productive: there are a lot of choices in partnerships. The questions you must answer: Is this one the most productive for you and your restaurant, is this a personal cause, or both?  As operators, we are very busy and must be calculated with our time. What will have the biggest impact for you and the partner? If you cannot be engaged, this could hurt the partner. If you overstate what you can do but are over committed, it could adversely impact the partnership. But if you are prepared to allocate the time and resources to the partnership, it will be extremely productive for the growth of your business. 

Profitable: not every partnership will be profitable, but remember you are a BUSINESS first. You should allocate a budget line item for annual philanthropy, inclusive of time, cash, and donated products. As you grow your business profitably you can do more. If you find yourself doing too much partnership but no profit, it can damage your business or even put you out of business. 

When you choose to execute a Partnership with a Purpose, here are 5 things to include in your strategy:

Brand Awareness

Your brand has value. If you are going to contribute your brand, make sure you align with the cause, program, and participants. In today’s social media environment, customers will often learn what types of events you participate in. Make sure you understand where you and your partner will be promoting the partnership. Ensure you have the proper logos, taglines, and contact information. 

Marketing

If the group is promoting the activity or event, make sure you have your company information and byline ready for press releases. Also consider how you are going to market. What audience exposure do you have? Can you distribute in unit, social, or external marketing? Can you incorporate the partnership in your marketing collateral? What is your investment?

Create a “Win – Win” Agreement

This is a non-binding agreement that outlines what each side of the partnership is responsible for. Do not over complicate this - you don’t need a bunch of legalese. You want to set the expectation of both sides, on space, social posts, marketing, food, beverage, gift cards, and dollars. Regardless of the what, make sure you have it documented.  Do not assume what each side of the partnership will do or like.

The agreement will outline the partnership and activity, ideally in one page or less. Anything extra that occurs is a bonus to both parties. Make sure the win-win motivates both sides to participate in the program. If the program becomes lopsided, the enthusiasm will decrease and the negatively impact the partnership overall.

Building New Customers

Consumers will engage more with organizations that participate in the community. There are many indeterminable outcomes, but when great organizations Partner with a Purpose, positive outcomes happen. I cannot tell you that every partnership will create the next thousand dollar sale, but in today’s highly-competitive environment, partnerships will help separate you from your competition. It takes work, but the efforts will receive dividends that result in new customers. Why are so many of today's musicians partnering on songs? Because they are Partnering with a Purpose.  The purpose is to make great music, grow each other’s fan bases, and make more money!

Recap

At the conclusion of each partnership, you should conduct a recap. If the partnership includes a donation or revenue share, create a giant check and share the image on your website, social media, and with local news outlets. You want to celebrate the activity and success. When you conduct your recap, talk with your staff and calculate how much time, money, and product was involved. Get feedback from staff and the partner on the activity. Finally, determine the partnership's success or failure. If successful, determine if it can be replicated, and utilize those insights with your next partner. If it was a failure, ask why did it fail, what did you learn, and how can you improve next time?

Partnerships with a Purpose are investments in your community and in your business. When executed properly, partnerships result in a win-win for everyone involved.

You can find me on Instagram and Twitter if you would like to discuss partnership ideas for your business. I am happy to help you discuss your next Partnership with a Purpose program.