Unlocking Growth through Collaboration
In a dynamic market characterized by fierce competition, it may appear counterintuitive to share your expertise or pool resources with another business. But collaboration can be an effective way to grow your enterprise while also expanding your reach—enticing benefits whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale. Explore three strategies for working with other brands that may just help you achieve each of your goals.
Information sharing
One simple approach to start with is exchanging knowledge and strategies with other business owners, such as at trade conferences or local business-association meetings. The former are especially useful for this since they offer so many natural opportunities to connect with noncompeting organizations in your industry. You could glean insights from experts in formal seminars, then seek clarification or further specifics during the Q and A portion; you might even have the chance to chat with them more casually after the session. There’s also typically ample downtime for browsing vendor booths and mingling among the crowd, and don’t overlook the value of planned gatherings like dinners. Such informal settings make it easy to engage in conversation with fellow leaders about how to expand your offerings, leverage social media to reach your target audience, and other key topics.
Business-association meetings, meanwhile, allow for more continuous information sharing with those in your area, enabling you to pose questions regarding a particular challenge, get tactics from others with relevant experience, and follow up in the next meeting about your progress. They may be more than happy to help since they’re receiving the same benefit from you. Engage fully in these exchanges, and you can gain fresh ideas, refine your strategies, and discover innovative ways to enhance your operations—and you may even form foundational relationships you can expand into partnerships in the future.
Comarketing
To take your collaborative efforts further, look to build a joint marketing campaign with a compatible business, such as one you met via the previous strategy, to broaden your audience. An easy way to do this is through shared social media promotions. Assess who in your geographical area would complement your services well, and work with them to create compelling posts that feature both your companies’ services or products, tagging each other to increase your visibility. A local coffee shop and an independent bookstore, for example, are a perfect pairing—after all, a picture of the newest book release next to the featured latte of the month is bound to perk up any book lover’s or coffee nut’s interest.
You could also consider cohosting a promotional event with one or more brands that align with yours, whether in terms of their values or customer demographics. Say that you’re a financial advisor seeking to help existing and potential clients navigate later-in-life decisions. You could partner with a variety of professionals, including a Seniors Real Estate Specialist® (SRES®), a tax professional, and an estate-planning attorney, to offer a one-stop-shopping experience where customers can explore complementary products and services, generating exposure and business for all involved. For a good turnout, cross-promote the event beforehand through email newsletters, coordinated social media campaigns, or cobranded flyers, building excitement and maintaining customer engagement.
Joint offerings
To reap even more rewards, consider joining forces with a like-minded partner to create cobranded products or services that can provide added value to both companies and their customers, driving mutual growth and success. Such tactical alliances are common in the business world since they allow organizations to leverage each other’s strengths, expand their offerings, and reach new clients. Apple and Nike, for one, have had a long-standing agreement, developing joint products that cater to fitness enthusiasts, including Nike-branded wristbands and clock faces for Apple watches. Similarly, Uber and Spotify used an innovative method to merge their brands: allowing Uber riders to stream music from their Spotify Premium accounts directly through the ride-sharing app, enhancing the overall experience and broadening the reach of both brands.
Similar to cobranding, the first step is connecting with a business that has like goals and a like target audience (perhaps even the one you’re already comarketing with). Then brainstorm a product or service you could provide together that would seem enticing to each of your client bases. For instance, a general cleaning company could team up with an HVAC professional to create a cobranded package that combines their offerings at a discounted rate—think a premium white-glove experience that includes whole-home and air-duct cleaning, providing homeowners with a dust-free environment.
Launching or scaling a business can have its share of unique challenges. But by joining forces with the right company, you may be able to amplify your impact, driving success for you and your partner alike.
TAKE ACTION:
Evaluate your company’s current needs, and brainstorm a business collaboration that would suit you well.