Your network is full of people who would like to partner with you, though neither of you may have approached the idea or formalized a plan. Here are some suggestions for ways that you can form strategic alliances with other businesses in your network.
BNI (Business Networking International) coined the phrase "giver's gain", which basically means that if you give referrals, leads or resources the recipients will want to repay you somehow. The problem is that as your network grows, it will become increasingly difficult to give referrals to everyone in your network. One way to give back to your network is to develop a number of strategic alliances. In general, think about the goals of the alliance. - You will get access to the networks of your partners.
- You can decrease your overall marketing costs, while expanding your reach.
- You can learn from other businesses. If you are a Realtor, you might think of mortgage originators or real estate attorney's that you could partner with. Here are several ways you can potentially form and alliance with another business.
- Create an alliance with a customer - Creating a mutually beneficial relationship with a key customer can strengthen the relationship and reduce your risk of losing this key customer.
- Create an alliance with a market leader – If you are a small business, you may be able to reap hue rewards from partnering with the market leader in your area. The alliance may not offer a huge financial incentive for the small business but you can leverage the alliance in your own marketing program. If you are the market leader, consider partnering with a young, easer business that might be able to offer you this type of market penetration.
- Create an alliance with a non-profit organization – You might be able to create an alliance with a trade organization or local community organization, which offer not only direct rewards, but also in-direct rewards from helping a good cause.
- Create an alliance with a former employer – Your company may offer a service that complements the services offered by a former employer.
- Create an alliance with a competitor – while you have to pay very close attention to detail when partnering with a competitor, you might be able to tap into their resources to extend your reach. For example, many people would consider Yahoo! and Microsoft's MSN internet portal to be competitors, but MSN recognized Yahoo! Strengths in keyword driven advertising and started featuring Yahoo! Ads with their search results.
- Create an alliance with a parelell industry – simply stated, find another business in your market but that is not a direct competitor and then team up to market to the same customer base. Each company can pitch in financially and see incremental results from their marketing activities.
Planning out exactly how the alliance will work is the next step. - Ask your partner to display your literature and/or products.
- Ask your partner to link to your website from theirs.
- Include your brochure in a partners mailings.
- Develop joint marketing materials that promote both businesses and share the expenses of implementing the plan. - Develop a "preferred partner" program that offers customers a financial incentive to buy products in tandem from two companies at once. A health club may offer a joint membership to a local tennis or pool club.
- Develop a seminar with another business – develop a educational seminar program with a business in your industry and then market the events as a team.
- Publish news about the businesses you have developed an alliance with.
- Introduce your new partners to your key clients. Set up a weekly meeting or conference call with your partner and go through a progress report. Think about the overall value proposition, where each parties goals are aligned and mismatched, the level of commitment or excitement from each party. Finally, if the alliance simply does not add measurable value to your business, do not participate.
Creating these formal alliances will help you develop and strengthen the relationships you already have. Power networkers can create multiple alliances with multiple members of their network.
- Ask your partner to link to your website from theirs.
- Include your brochure in a partners mailings.
- Develop joint marketing materials that promote both businesses and share the expenses of implementing the plan. - Develop a "preferred partner" program that offers customers a financial incentive to buy products in tandem from two companies at once. A health club may offer a joint membership to a local tennis or pool club.
- Develop a seminar with another business – develop a educational seminar program with a business in your industry and then market the events as a team.
- Publish news about the businesses you have developed an alliance with.
- Introduce your new partners to your key clients. Set up a weekly meeting or conference call with your partner and go through a progress report. Think about the overall value proposition, where each parties goals are aligned and mismatched, the level of commitment or excitement from each party. Finally, if the alliance simply does not add measurable value to your business, do not participate.
Creating these formal alliances will help you develop and strengthen the relationships you already have. Power networkers can create multiple alliances with multiple members of their network.
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