Getting exposure in the world of today has never been more difficult. The problem for most people is they’re competing against businesses that are not dissimilar from their own. Coming up with a truly unique approach can work, but within six months someone else will be doing exactly the same thing.
Strategic marketing partnerships could be the answer to your woes. It’s all about leveraging the power of who you know not what you know. Taking advantage of someone else’s brand, and letting them take advantage of yours, has the potential to give your brand exposure it wouldn’t have otherwise got.
So What is the Point of a Strategic Marketing Partnership?
The whole point of a strategic marketing partnership is to give you access to each other’s audiences. It’s also about pooling your resources to come up with a grand marketing campaign you couldn’t have created by yourself. The point of a marketing partnership is to combine your strengths to get better results.
That’s why it can help you get over a hump. The resulting exposure can take your business to the next level.
The Main Ingredient of a Successful Marketing Partnership
Not every business can form a successful partnership. There’s little point in partnering with a completely irrelevant company. Your audiences are different and there’s no overlap. The main ingredient of a successful marketing partnership is a common goal.
Take the recent partnership between Hisense and Red Bull Racing as an example. Hisense happens to be one of the leading sellers of consumer electronics in China. Red Bull has made its name as one of the leading teams in Formula One racing. The overlap in electronics has enabled these companies to come together to promote each other’s brands.
You don’t have to partner with someone in your niche. You just have to find some overlap so you can have that common goal. In fact, it’s highly recommended you don’t team up with someone in your niche because you could be just helping the competition.
The Extent of Your Partnership
Whenever you think about forming a partnership you need to consider the extent of that partnership. You need to have some clear boundaries for what each party will be expected to do. One of the main problems of strategic marketing partnerships is two parties who can’t agree on what the other should be doing.
Before you announce any partnership you should already have a plan for what you’re going to accomplish and how you’re going to get there. Make sure it’s written down as part of your plan. If you’re only teaming up for a Christmas campaign, make sure this is clearly spelled out.
Make a Big Deal of That Partnership
The majority of the work likely takes place behind the scenes. That doesn’t mean you should stay silent about your partnership. The foundation of any good partnership is to make a big deal out of it the moment it’s formed. Agree on a joint celebration of the new partnership, and make sure both parties are featuring branding elements from both companies.
This introduces the other company to your existing customers, and vice-versa. It’s also important for keeping customers informed and making sure they’re not going to be shocked by any sudden changes over the next few months.
Tracking Results
The success of a partnership only happens when both sides are gaining from it. You need to keep track of the partnership’s progress to ensure its mutually beneficial. It takes a lot of time and money to maintain a partnership. Any smart CEO knows when a partnership is worth pursuing.
Sooner or later the partnership has to come to an end either because one company is diversifying or one company has grown so much it’s no longer a good investment for them.
The only way you can find out how much you’re getting out of a partnership is to track the results. Keep hold of the results of every marketing campaign and compare them to the results you were getting before the partnership. With 71% of all content set to be video by next year now has never been a more important time to keep track of your results.
Conclusion – A Partnership is an Enhancement Not a Cover
A partnership can enhance your company. Just don’t make the mistake of assuming a strategic partnership is going to cover up for any fundamental problems within your company. Partnerships have to be used for the right reasons with the best of intentions in mind.
What do you think your company can gain from a strategic marketing partnership?