What is consistently rated as one of the most effective
small business target marketing strategies? Without a
doubt it is the Joint Venture (JV), also known as a
strategic alliance. Target, or niche marketing means that
you are marketing directly to the prospect most likely to
buy your product or service. Your JV strategy can be the
ultimate form of target marketing since you are using the
targeted customer and prospect list of another business
owner.
The JV and strategic alliance are so popular and profitable
because they leverage the assets (customer list, goodwill,
relationship, etc.) your partner has developed with their
client and prospect base. Nearly all potential buyers
(business and consumer) prefer to do business with a
company, firm or practice for which they have a degree of
trust.
Marketing legend Dan Kennedy likes to say that we are all
walking around holding an umbilical cord saying "plug me in
and tell me what to do." Whether you are looking for a
place to buy a hot dog,tobuy a yacht, or looking for a
brain surgeon or a new church in your community, you are
looking for someone to recommend where you should go to
obtain the product, service or advice.
Don't confuse the JV with referrals. Referrals are great
for new business and are an effective small business target
marketing strategy but generally are given only one or two
at a time. Referrals can also dry up if you are not
diligent about keeping in touch with your clients and
letting them know how much you appreciate and value their
business.
JV's can be as simple as selecting a retail partner and
issuing a joint coupon to one another's client base. They
can also be very complex, multi-million dollar deals
between large companies. American Express is an example of
a very large and sophisticated company that partners with
several other large businesses to leverage the client lists
of both firms. If you have one of their cards, you have
received numerous calls and mailers from them endorsing
their JV partners. The partners get the implied
endorsement of a blue chip company like Amex and Amex gets
increased card purchases as you use the card to buy the
recommended partners products.
Now that you've decided to add the JV to your small
business marketing tools, where do you start? The first
thing you must do is to create a demographic profile of
your target client. What else do they buy and where do
they buy it? For example, Paul Flood Marketing, which is
my company, implements a unique and non-traditional
marketing system in small businesses and I guarantee profit
increases of 25% or more in as little as 90 days. As the
old saying goes, "Fish where the fish are," so I have
partnered with other small business consultants, primarily
CPA's and small business attorneys, who have endorsed my
services to their clients.
If I had tried to contact many of these business owners
cold, I would have probably been turned away but the
endorsement of my trusted partners established trust.
This is the trust you want to leverage with your potential
JV partners.
Armed with the list of potential partners, you formulate
your contact strategy. You could try writing letters but I
am a strong believer in just picking up the phone and
saying to the owner, "Hi, I am a local business owner and I
have an idea that could help us both dramatically increase
our sales and profits and I'd like to talk with you about
it. Do you have a minute so I can explain the concept?
Great, if makes sense for us to talk in more depth, we can
arrange a time to get together." The thing I like about
the phone is that I can immediately get a feel about the
business and the person in just a couple of minutes.
When you first meet, you will most likely need to explain
how the Joint Venture small business target marketing
strategy works and how it will benefit both of your
businesses. Most small business owners are only familiar
with traditional marketing or networking so it may take a
bit of explaining to get the concept across.
The most common objection you will encounter is the trust
factor so bring testimonials and samples of your product,
service, practice or whatever you are selling to the
meeting. You need to show why the other business owner
person know they can trust you and your business? People
are naturally wary (as they should be) about referring
others to their clients because their reputation is on the
line, as is yours.
Always conduct due diligence. Talk to a couple of their
clients and understand their product and commitment to
quality service. If you feel uncomfortable at the
beginning, bow out of the relationship gracefully. Ther's
no sense in adding aggragvation to your life!
The other objection is the confidentiality of av client
list, but that is easily overcome by offering to mail your
endorsement of your partner to your list and they mail
their endorsement of you to their list. What if you don't
have a list? Pay for a mailing to your partner's list and
pay them a commission or finder's fee for leads you convert
to customers. There are some professions that are
prevented from paying or receiving finder's fees so if this
applies to you, you need to investigate alternatives.
What is the simplest JV strategy? Each partner mails an
endorsement of the other's business to their list with a
description of the benefits of doing business with them and
why they are recommending one another. It's that simple.
The key to success of the JV as your small business target
marketing strategy is that you and your partners must be
proactive in promoting one another and in managing the
relationship. As the person who originated the
partnership, take control and action to make it happen. If
you have a partner who isn't committed, drop them and find
another.
When you are actively using the JV as a small business
marketing tool, you will be amazed at the results you can
achieve in a relatively short period of time. Of course,
as with any other business strategy, there are experts like
myself who can be delivering profits while you are
attempting to find your first partner. The key is to make
the decision to make it happen, to leverage your contacts
and your list and get started!
----------------------------------------------------
Quickly generate dramatic increases in your sales and
profits using JV's in your business. The small business
experts team at Paulod Marketing, LLC will increase your
sales and profits 25% or more in 90 days or less. Visit
http://www.paulfloodmarketing.com to get your free copy of
"Cracking the Marketing Code - The Seven Secrets to
Dramatic Increases in Your Profits Without Risking More
Money on Advertising"
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