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Partnering - a new way to market

A different way to find new business

There is an increasing trend in the small business world for non-competing businesses that serve the same customer base, or at least sell to similar customers, to mutually benefit from partnering to promote a shared activity.

With a bit of thought, time and imagination you may come up with some possibilities that will work for your type of business.

A typical example is for a restaurant to do a deal with, say, a winemaker, to pay for the cost of printing its menus. In return, the winemaker’s products are heavily featured on the menus. Similarly, a hotel can offer its guests free street maps whose production costs were shared with the local theatre - naturally the map highlights the location of both the hotel and the theatre.

Sure, there’s nothing new in a restaurant having a wine list and a hotel providing street maps to guests, but consider the advantages of producing them through a partnering arrangement. Production cost is shared and both businesses get noticed– in partnership both parties come out ahead. Any kind of business can benefit from this sort of arrangement if they can identify the right sort of partner. The partnership isn’t simply about advertising, it’s really about marketing, which is why some imagination is required.
First, put together a profile of your customers. Then make a list of what else they buy. Who makes it? Where do they buy it from? Stretch it as far as you like, the aim is to find any other businesses with which you share customers. With your team or a group of friends, brainstorm what you and these other businesses might have in common besides customers. Where is it possible to create a marketing link between your business and theirs that benefits both of you?
Here are a few ways that almost any two businesses can start a partnership:
·       Donate to a charity and send out a joint press release about it to local media
·       Share the cost of advertising that promotes the same special offer to customers of both businesses - ‘Order a bottle of Hardy’s wine with your dinner at Sullivan’s Restaurant and get a free dessert’
·       Produce a leaflet promoting the products of both partners and send it out on both company’s mailing lists
·       Team up to co-produce or sponsor an event and promote it in both places of business
Or you can build a closer relationship than one based just on sharing some costs:
·       A sporting goods store can team up with a golf pro to offer lessons at a special price with the purchase of a set of clubs
·       A printer can partner a graphic designer to create a full-service offering that benefits clients of both businesses
·       A nursery can partner with a landscaper so that each can offer a complete garden service
Partnering offers some great competitive advantages too:
·       You’re brought to the attention of prospects by somebody they already know and trust
·       You can provide additional value to your existing customers without additional costs

·       You have another business with which you can create marketing opportunities

Partnering can be very profitable if the two parties have a good business ‘fit’ and exploit it well. It all begins with looking around and seeing who else sells something to your customers, then giving them a call.