Co-Marketing: Partnerships that Really Pay

Marketing your business how do you do it? Through advertising, networking – what’s your formula for success? Want to know mine?

As many of you may know we have shifted the focus of our business over the past year from providing not only software training but helping customers use technology to market more effectively; essentially focusing on the tools needed to launch emarketing campaigns. I have always had a passion for marketing and I have applied my passion to my company and given advice to others over the years.

One of the most cost effective ways to market is to join forces with the companies that you find to complement and market co-operatively. Tide does it with Wal-Mart. Why not you? Sometimes small businesses get so wrapped up in their individual goals that they forget the resources they have, and the partner they work with daily.

On Monday September 25, 2006 I was quoted in the Wall Street Journal, and had it not been for a partnership I have had for years I would never have been interviewed. Ramon Ray creator of www.smallbiztechnology.com gave my name to the reporter. Ramon and I have supported each other for years realizing we are talking to the same audience and two voices are stronger than one.

Who do you partner with? Are you talking to the same people? Sit-down with your partner, combine your resources and target your audience together. Here are a few ideas:

1. Co-operative Campaign: A great way to start is by creating a post card or email marketing campaign that introduces your service to your partners list of clients and vice-versa.
   
2. Link exchanges: so many people have forgotten about this, but putting your link on their site and theirs on yours can help you both on the web.
   
3. Write an article together: if you and your partner company are experts in different areas, author an article together or create a joint seminar. We have done this with great success and wonderful return.
   

Now look at your formula for marketing success would co-marketing help your business grow and reach more people?

Share your story with us - how have relationships helped your business get to a new level? Post a comment here or email me directly to be considered as a guest for an upcoming radio show on technology success stories.

Are You a Walking Contradiction?

Technology! Everyone has a love-hate relationship, there are days where I feel the same way, but as a small business I could not accomplish as much as I do in a given day without it. The push and pull we feel with technology is the same push and pull we feel as our business grows with other areas like; marketing, staff resources and time.

When you look at your business are you contradicting your growth strategies or the message you send to your staff? Here is an example that happened to me recently. I had a meeting with a long standing client who expressed the concerns they had about being available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This particular client is in an international business. They compete with the big guys by placing service above all else there are no voice mail systems for this client even on the weekends. Impressed by there commitment to service we discussed how technology can play a key role in their success. The partners in the firm take turns being on call over the weekend, always answering their cell phones no matter what time. Again impressive! One of their biggest issues is that many clients are sending more and more emails to report information instead of calling. I recommend they consider getting each partner a blackberry to eliminate the frustration of needing to be near a computer when a major weekend project occurs. One of the partners said to me; "I don't think I want to be that accessible". What message is he sending?

This idea made me think about other situations I have seen working with so many small businesses across the country. How many of us are sending that same message saying here we are ready to serve you no matter what time it is, then when we need them, we get no answer. This is true in large companies as well as small, but since most of my audience is small business I thought I'd ask you all to stop and think about this question. Are you contradicting your own goals?

Here is a common goal: "I want to create a system using my computer that will really allow me to grow and organize my business more effectively." Wonderful, technology can be very helpful in this area. One of the first things we do with our clients is talk about how they approach their business off the computer. Do they have any systems in this area? We discuss their objectives, the software that will fit their needs and time to accomplish these goals. The first 2 are always the easy part of the conversation. Time to learn and commit to using the system is where the contradictions begin for many people. I wish I could make it happen instantly for you and for me, but if you want to grow and get organized using your computer, time is a major investment.

So as we all get out of our summer heads and begin to re-focus for the 4th quarter of 2006 think about what your goals are and where you want to be at the end of this year. Commit to eliminating the contradictions in your business and commit to your successes!

Share your story with us - how has technology helped your business get to a new level? Post a comment here or email me directly to be considered as a guest for an upcoming radio show on technology success stories.