Having your business partner with another business can be of great benefit to you both. A good partnership can allow you to grow your business by reaching new customers you wouldn’t have had access to otherwise. The two main types of partnerships are peer partners and promotional partners. We’re going to introduce you to both, with examples, so you’re better able to seek out your own partnerships and better your business.
Peer Partners
With a peer partnership, you’re joining up with another business where you’re both lifting each other up. For example, as a photographer, one of my peer partnerships has been with a delightful bakery called Party Delights. We’ve partnered up for special holiday events (the most recent one was Valentine’s Day) where we both bring something to the table and combine customers. Party Delights has all the qualities of a good peer partner: it’s another local business; it serves the same customer group that I do; the skills of its proprietor/staff are complimentary not competitive; and, very important, they were excited about partnering with me.
What to do with your Peer Partner
As peer partners there are several different things you can do together. You could create something together, for example, a photographer and a clothing designer coming together to create a gorgeous stylized shoot for a magazine spread. Peer partners can speak at events together, such as a personal trainer and a nutritionist partnering together for a workshop on leading a healthier life. Another thing you could do is have a special offer for each other’s customers. For instance, a boat rental business could partner up with a local bait shop so that when someone rents a boat they get 10% off of their purchase at the bait shop. The important thing is that both of the businesses benefit from the partnership.
The Steps to Becoming Peer Partners
The first and most important step to having a peer partnership with another business is that you have to gain one another’s trust. Just like with you, their business is their baby, and they have to be sure that they can trust you with something that impacts their baby (and livelihood!). Next, you have to get to know each other’s businesses. Do you share the same group of customers? Would your businesses mesh together? The third step is to ID areas that you both need support in. With the Valentine’s Day event that I partnered with Party Delights for, I needed a place to hold sessions. As it was February, it was too cold to do sessions outside, and my business slowed down because of it. With the partnership, I was able to hold sessions inside the adorable cupcakes shop, and she was able to offer professional pictures as part of her Valentine’s Day event package. Once you know the areas that you need support with then you determine the specific ways you will help each other. Make sure you stay on the same page with what you are contributing.
The Keys to Peer Partnership
It’s important to approach the partnership with a genuine desire to help their business. People can tell when you’re only after what benefits you and that’s a real turn off when looking for a partner, business or otherwise. The other thing to keep in mind is that you have to have patience. Building a good partnership is a process and it can take time.
Promotional Partners
With a promotional partner you’re not exactly on the same playing field; you’re not getting tit for tat. An example would be when Pillsbury partners with a popular food blogger so they create a new recipe using one of Pillsbury’s products. The blogger may be promoting Pillsbury, but Pillsbury isn’t promoting the blogger back, even though they may offer some form of compensation. They are not “peers.” Instead, it’s a promotional partnership.
Qualities of a Good Promotional Partner
A good promotional partner has a network of your ideal customers, such as the food blogger having an established audience of people who cook meals for their family. The partner is usually an “expert” in their field who is looking to highlight things that would benefit their community. And just like with peer partnerships, it’s important to partner with someone who is excited about the collaboration.
The Key to Promotional Partnership
There’s only one key to promotional partnerships, but it’s very important. It’s that you must make it AS EASY AS POSSIBLE for the other person. I’m talking make it so the partner has to do as little as possible. Provide ALL the materials (descriptions, email templates, images, social media posts). Provide regular feedback on results (“I saw you posted about the webinar that I’m speaking at for you. It’s getting a really good reception on Facebook. I’m excited for the event.”) At the end of it, offer a small token of thanks. A gift basket and thank you card can go a long way. Instead of burning bridges, fortify them!
What’s Best for You?
As you look at your business, your customers, and your needs, you can better figure out what kind of partnership would benefit your business the most. Consider carefully your options so that you can create mutual beneficial partnerships. Be kind and communicate well for a happy partnership.
We want to hear from you! What partnerships have you had/are thinking about building?