We’ve all heard the old saying, “The sum is greater than the parts.” That holds true for many things, including marketing strategies. While one marketer is good, two or more working toward a common goal is even better.
When you think about the connection between partnerships and growth, it makes a lot of sense. If you can work cooperatively with another organization that communicates with a segment of your audience that you haven’t yet addressed, then your reach — your universe of potential clients — will expand. And if the firm you partner with is held in high esteem by its audience, some of that credibility can be transferred to your firm by association.
So what would a partnership marketing plan look like? Perhaps the best place to start is by defining what partnership marketing is: a mutually beneficial marketing relationship between a firm and another organization. Now, this definition is admittedly pretty broad, but that’s because most marketing partnerships will have their own unique attributes.
The components of a partnership marketing plan are actually similar to a single-firm plan, but when two or more partners are engaged, the reach and efficiency of the plan is multiplied — exponentially when it’s done right.
Here’s one way you might approach such a plan:
Share speaking engagements and conferences: If you both have an annual conference, offer each other a speaking spot and exhibit space. This mutually expands your presence and enables you both to gain valuable exposure and experience with a new audience. Also consider inviting your partner to co-present at other conferences that target an audience you have in common. A growing number of conference organizers are seeking presentations that involve more than one speaker, so offering co-presenters provides added expertise and value, giving you an advantage when competing for a spot.
Co-promote webinars: Webinars have skyrocketed in popularity as individuals all around the world seek professional development opportunities in a low-cost forum. Successful webinars typically feature a high registration count, attendance count and engagement rate. However, it can be tough to achieve optimal engagement on your own when you’re appealing to a relatively limited audience. A co-promoted webinar is an easy way for two symbiotic firms to expand and utilize each other’s audience to increase the total number of registrants and ultimately attendees while offering more expertise and value that encourages audience engagement.
Publish original research: More and more firms are discovering the power of conducting original research. There are many benefits, including how original research can provide strategic information about your ideal prospects while also giving your marketing team material a valuable tool to supercharge your marketing strategy. However, original research can be expensive. So develop a mutually beneficial research topic and share the expense and the results.
The key: selecting the right partners
It’s important to carefully vet partners. When beginning a new strategic marketing partnership, there are two criteria for selecting the right partner — they serve the same audience but don’t directly compete with you by delivering the same or similar services.
“Wait a minute,” you might be saying. “Who would be stupid enough to try to partner with a competitor?” Certainly no one with a clear understanding of their competition. But sometimes competitors aren’t as obvious as you might think. Competition can appear in unanticipated forms. For example, firms with a specific area of expertise may have that expertise morph into something else as the market and their business evolves. As a result, you may be competitors without really realizing it. Likewise, increased diversification of services may suddenly cause two firms to start bumping into each other in areas where they were previously mutually exclusive.
The way to avoid this is to do your research ahead of time by reviewing a potential partner’s website, interviewing one or two of their team members, and possibly talking to one of their clients. A strong grasp of a potential partner’s corporate brand and employer brand is crucial to a successful partnership. Moreover, you want to avoid introducing any confusion about what services your firm provides, avoid any unintended clashes, and associate only with well-regarded brands. A partner with the wrong values and culture could send the wrong signals to buyers and clients and cost you future business.
The second criterion is determining that you and your potential partner share at least part of an audience. This could mean partnering with a firm that offers complementary professional services to all or part of the market you serve — for example, accounting services and business insurance. But partnering with a firm whose audience is different than your ideal prospects is a waste of time and resources. Partnerships should put you directly in front of your ideal prospects.
Developing partners and a partnership marketing plan is a great way to supercharge your marketing efforts. You’ll be able to reach a larger audience and offer greater value through complementary expertise that’s attractive to your target prospects. While building partner relationships and trust can take time, it’s well worth the effort. In fact, it’s one of the best ways to start growing your firm, especially when resources are tight.
