The sharing economy has proved to be a lucrative venture for startups with imaginative twists on stale industries. With recent talk of companies participating in the UK sharing economy making annual revenues of around £9bn by 2025, there will be plenty looking for a slice of the pie.
But as startups start to flood various industries, the difficulty will lie in how they make their voices heard.
Uber’s approach to conquering the ride-sharing territory saw them boosting their profile by participating in various collaborations with other industries. They have even been accused of attempting to sabotage their competitors.
For the UK’s fastest growing car parking marketplace, YourParkingSpace.co.uk, the method has been very different. To date, their collaborations have been inspiringly industry relevant and mutually beneficial.
Partnering with international competitors
As Uber proved through its collaboration with Topshop, gaining exposure to new audiences through unexpected brand alliances can produce great results. But there are also advantages to working with businesses from the same industry.
Rather than looking to undermine the competition, YourParkingSpace.co.uk have embraced it. They have maximised growth through partnering with their Australian market leading counterpart Parkhound.
For both companies, the partnership has yielded an invaluable insight into a similar service and presented an opportunity to see how their own practices could be implemented in another country.
As both companies plan to co-trial new features in the UK, one of the most important aspects of their collaboration has been the acknowledgement that rivals are worth learning from.
Parkhound will be able to learn about the innovative technology that YourParkingSpace.co.uk have installed across thousands of UK parking spaces; meanwhile YourParkingSpace.co.uk will benefit from Parkhound’s feedback.
Joining forces with complementary companies
By teaming up with companies focussed on different elements of the same industry, startups can ensure that partnerships are reciprocal, and likely to result in an enhanced reputation and customer experience.
These types of unions have occurred serendipitously time and again, but the potential advantages should inspire startups to intentionally seek them.
YourParkingSpace.co.uk have chosen to work closely with their sister site WhichStorage.co.uk, an online storage market. This synergy has benefited many people looking for somewhere safe to store their car, whether it’s in an off-street parking space or a secure lock-up garage.
Examples from other industries include Starbucks partnering with Barnes and Nobles bookstores in 1993, and Bing partnering with Yahoo in a deal which has seen them power Yahoo’s search results. Sometimes an outright purchase is preferred, as shown in 2013 when supermarket group Tesco bought the restaurant chain Giraffe.
Time will tell if the partnerships for this parking company prove fruitful, but it’s a tried and tested route for many other businesses.
