Yes, the economy is still worsening. People are spending less.
Yet you can still attract more customers and, sometimes, even more per-customer spending. How?
By offering them something more. You just need the right kind of partners and methods, as Jamie Herzlich points out in Newsday today. (She quoted me along with others including my friend, John Jantsch, of Duct Tape Marketing.)
Here are six quick, SmartPartnering success stories, followed by 14 easy ways to jumpstart a first, profitable partnership. Bet you can adapt at least one to your kind of business - or club or other non-profit group.
1. Give ‘Em Another Reason to Visit Your Business
That’s how Applebee’s attracted more customers – many first-time visitors - to their family restaurants one summer, without advertising more. When Weight Watchers designed and branded several low-cal menu items for Applebee’s, followers of their diet program (and those who were thinking of losing weight) had a new reason to eat at Applebee’s. The restaurant’s customers got introduced to a new program – Weight Watchers, by a restaurant they already knew and liked.
2. Deepen Your Customers’ Emotional Bond With You, in How You Support a Local Cause – With Them
A month after Hurricane Charley and tropical storm Bonnie, when a storm the size of Texas pummeled parts of Florida, their “neighbors” in Florida and Georgia were given a small way to help with storm relief efforts.
When they shopped at Winn-Dixie grocery stores they could “even it up” at the checkout counter. That is, they could round up their food bill to the next dollar or more, with the extra change going to the local Red Cross chapter for relief efforts.
Many of the retailers and non-profits that worked together forged a second alliance faster (they knew each other better) to create bus caravans for their food-direct-to-Katrina-folks.
3. Coddle Local, Lucrative Niche Customers
Last Valentine’s Day, several neighborhood businesses — including a, women’s medical clinic, florist, health food store, clothing boutique, shopper newspaper, museum store, gym, bookstore and beauty salon — joined forces for a month-long promotion to attract and serve women.
The bookstore hosted a series of “Beauty Inside Out” - themed series of in-store demonstrations and mini-seminars each led by a manager of one of the participating businesses and highlighting a book collection and the local partners’ related products and services.
Each presenter provided a handout that included reference to at least one of the other partnering organizations, plus a joint offer of services with one of them. As well, each presenter wrote a guest column based on their presentation, which was featured in the shopper newspaper, with the author’s follow-up offer and e-mail noted at the bottom of the article. Of course each column author quoted others in this mutually beneficial alliance.
4. Become Their Top-of-Mind Choice. Offer a Tantalizing “Extra”
Who knows how many people chose to stay at the Ritz Carlton rather than at another luxury hotel because of an added thrill - complimentary use of a brand new Mercedes during their stay? Mercedes and Ritz Carlton forged a smart partnership and became the top-of-mind choice with their kind of (upscale) customers and so can you - regardless of the kind or size of your business.
5. Trade Benefits to Lower Overhead & Attract Attention With a “First Ever”
That’s how T-shirt designer Tami Minatelli exhibited at nine street fairs last summer without paying for her booth space. A manufacturer of a no-stain suntan lotion paid for Tami’s booth. She wore their lotion and her T-shirts, with a sign above her head, describing her original painting-on-cotton method and the lotion’s “do no harm” guarantee. Next to burn protection, that’s the biggest concern of people who use suntan lotions.
6. Boost a Local Cause in a Way That Builds Your Profits
That’s how firefighters in the town of Toluma got a badly-needed but expensive piece of equipment, a deluge gun, without asking their cash-strapped city council for a single dime. And made a local eatery more popular, well-known – and profitable.
Here’s how. Business was slow all over their town. The firefighters were getting nowhere when they asked for donations from business owners experiencing a weak economy.
Yet when they approached the manager of a local pizzeria, PizzaLove, he said he didn’t have the authority to donate money, but he had a better idea. “Here’s what I can do. We can pick a Wednesday, say four weeks from today for an “Our Community Cares” day here. I make $500 or so on Wednesdays. On that day, after we sell $500 worth, every dollar after that I’ll split 50/50 with you. So if you inspire enough people to buy a pizza on that day, you can raise more money than you just asked me for.”
The firefighters loved the “fire-fighting pizza” community challenge. . They prepared banners and asked the local supermarket and gas stations to put up on their outside walls. They had signs and announcements printed for free by the local copy shop with a bright red “donated by” credit line to the copy shop on them.
The headline on the signs and flyers read, “Eat at PizzaLove. Save a local life.” They visited offices complexes, even those with signs that read “No soliciting.” (Who’s going to kick out the volunteer fire department, right?) They went to apartment complexes, video rental outlets, grade and high schools. They put flyers and signs everywhere. Once people heard about their cause, handing out flyers was like giving away candy. The local radio and newspaper gave them free coverage talking and writing about their inspirational community story.
When Wednesday came around, the place was packed. They made enough money to get the Deluge Gun. Most importantly it was a fair partnership because everyone contributed, so participants were likely to want to work together again.
Here are 14 low-risk and high-opportunity ways to jump-start your first SmartPartnership:
1. Print joint promotional offers on your bills and/or receipts.
2. Offer a reduced price, special service, or convenience if customers buy a minimum amount of services or products from you and your partner. Make a much better offer when they buy a larger amount.
3. Hang signs or posters promoting one another on your walls, windows, or products.
4. Mention one another’s benefits when you speak at local events, write an articles or are interviewed by the media.
5. Describe the situation where you and your partner’s products or services work well together.
6. Pool mailing lists and send out a joint promotional postcard.
7. Promote your partners’ products during their slow times, and ask them to do the same for you.
8. Share inexpensive ads in local shopping papers or a nonprofit event program.
9. Give a joint interview, demonstration, or Q & A. session to local media.
10. Put one another’s promotional messages on Lucite stands on counters or
floor stands in waiting areas.
11. Encourage your staff to mention how your partner’s products can be used with yours.
12. Give your partner’s product to your customers when they buy a large quantity of your product, and ask your partner to do the same.
13. Use door hangers, posters, flyers, or postcards to promote special offers for one another’s products.
14. Co-produce an in-store or office event, a demonstration, celebrity appearance, free service, or lecture.
The bottom line: when partners serve their mutual market better together everyone wins.
At the very least you get introduced to your kind of customers through businesses they already know and trust.
Learn more about the author, Kare Anderson.
Hi Kare,
I appreciated this artical enough to take the time to read others written by you and more about you.
Your article has inspired me to host a biznik event for the purpose of generating the ideas that inspire cross-promotional collaboration and profitable partnerships.
Thank you, Kristina Katayama Beyond Belief Coaching
Hi Kare, Fabulous article! I printed it out and highlighted parts of it. The article is actually a mini-marketing plan.
You are a wealth of information. Your article list is extensive. I look forward to reading all of them.
Regards, Karen
You have me thinking... my market is Stress Relief. I could enlist a small group of practitioners whose services also relate to "stress relief". We could sell tickets something like a fundraiser. These tickets would be redeemed for a discounted stress relief service with a portion of the money going to a worthy cause. This could be promoted as a large-scale PR event. Hummm... I will keep working on this.
Brilliant post. The 3rd success story has really hit home for me - collaboration is key to growing - whether a strong or weak economy. Keep the information coming!
Hi Kare,
I really enjoyed your article and it does have me thinking of ways to tie this into my real estate business. I haven't come up with any, other than I can highlight different businesses in my monthly mailers, which would be great for them; I just haven't figured out how it would translate to my business.
Any ideas?
Wonderful ideas Kare,
The world is really shifting into a collaborative carnival!
Do you have any specifics on how you have used these ideas in your business?
Thank you for your valuable articles.
Kare - thank you for taking the time to write this article and share these wonderful ideas. Like others that have commented already, I too feel like this article got my head buzzing with ideas. I plan on starting a monthly newsletter and plan on incorporating some of these ideas in there.
What do you think about businesses in the same field collaborating?
Aaron, Ask a popular bookstore to host (and promote on their site and in their newsletter) your co-presented "event" with complementary practitioners. Make it a one-time or series of very short seminars.
Each presenter would recommend 3 books that would be on display during the seminars - and a month ahead of time, in the store.
Make a collective offer involving all partners and separate offers from each partner.
Also recruit a great freelance writer here at biznik to cull best tips from your SmartPartners to write one or more multi-authored, guest columns (situational or timely topics) to submit to your neighborhood or shopper papers and to place on all partners's blogs/sites.
Offer a free follow-up report for each column - one that people can download via their computer - when they submit their email (and put your offers in that PDF report).
Sara Yes competing businesses can successfully partner - to go afterbigger "jobs" they could not do on their own, to expand the mix of services or products they offer or to cross-refer in non-competing geo markets... and more.
In the seminar I offered to teach this Fall in Seattle (see promotions section) I would describe proven ways to profitably partner AND suggest ways class participants could partner - with each other and/or others. I want to make that class as successful as possible for you all.
Maybe Dan - our esteemed founder - has some suggestions about how to make that most valuable for you all
Pamela I have crafted 24 SmartPartnerships to grow my business - and to do what I do best more of the time. This may not be the best place to describe them... feels too self-promotional - but it has been so much fun to work with others in ways our work directly helps each other attract more revenue. And it is the fastest way for me to learn new skills, through collab with others.
It would be fun to have a biznik event where I suggest five of the most successful methods, then did "what if" scenarios that are specific to the people who signed up - and were in the seminar....
then (in my dream scenario) biznik hosted a contest for members to launch such partnerships, winning prizes (from partners) when the community here votes on favorite SmartPartnerships... gotta go down to the ballroom and give a speech. Thanks friends for all the suggestions and comments sent directly to me via email - and here.
Kare - Nice article. Thanks
Through the examples one can see that the "Partnership" with a "Right Cause", offers "Extra" to the customer. There by everyone "Win".
I felt that some points from you will work even with good economy.
Doug Need more specifics. Re real estate, I crafted some for individual Realtors, Inman News and for NAR's Resort and Second Home Symposium
Hi kare! First i would love to tell you that your articles impresed me a lot. My name is Nelly & i am 23 years old, i am getting in the medical spa biz and i would love to pick your brain and dig into more specific ideas of how to bring clients in collaborating with others businesses and working out a referral programs. thank you for yoyur ideas and i cant wait for many mores.
Krstina, Bet you were a great host. Re SmartPartnering, next time consider forging alliances with complementary co-hosts.
Nelly, I'd be happy to help you hone a profitable partnership to jumpstart a medical spa business. Consider an hour of phone consulting ($150) http://www.sayitbetter.com/coaching.php
OH MY! Now my brain is REALLY going!
I actually had a cross promotional idea for the holidays that didn't quite take due to one person's schedule but I want to revisit that, maybe an altered version.
I think there is another event idea coming in here to brainstorm! OH! I just got one..and I know there are more in there brewing!
I LOVE connecting my peoples together for opportunities. It's one of my favorite things to do, next to design! :)
THANK YOU KARE!
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