September 2, 2011
OPEN Forum Message
Affordably Build Your Brand
FedEx Global Brand Management Director Monica Skipper shares a cost-effective way to build a bigger brand for your small business.
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As a business owner, you may be used to wearing many hats. But two heads are better than one. Partnering with compatible companies—or even your competition—can expand the power of your campaigns.
Here's what you need to know.
Look for new places your prospects are
The idea of a marketing partnership is to find new segments or new ways of connecting with potential customers, according to John Paul Engel, principle of Knowledge Capital Consulting. For example, his client Global Rhythm is a music magazine that features the best musicians in the world.
Engel suggested the publisher contact embassies, offering to create a magazine issue devoted to the music of their country.
"Embassies like to throw parties," Engel notes. "What could be better than bringing in artists from their country and throwing a party for them?" The embassies also introduced them to local companies that would sponsor the issues at $35,000 each.
Find the first point of customer contact
Is your product or service part of a chain of life stage events? If so, you can get ahead of your competition by partnering with companies higher up the chain. For example, a jewelry store is one of the first businesses in a chain of purchases that leads to a wedding.
"If your business is wedding related, the leads from a jewelry store would provide you with a large number of qualified prospects at little or no cost," Engel says.
This tactic works for online marketing, too. One of Engel's clients was a camping store that wanted to sell tents online. Paying for search ads next to the keyword "camping tent" would cost several dollars per click. So he looked further up the chain to where people researched their camping trips, and purchased ads against the keyword "national park."
"We got millions of impressions that led to hundreds of thousands of visitors and sold over 6,000 camping tents in two months—and it cost $12,000," he says.
Provide social proof
Expect potential partners to check you out. You need to provide evidence—the social proof—that you have the experience and capability to hold up your end of the partnership. If you want to work with local businesses or organizations, that may mean a visit to your office or store. Increasingly, social proof includes your online presence via your website, social media accounts and search results.
Engel received e-mail from a woman in Nigeria with a mission related to youth and health, two things he is passionate about. But when he researched her organization online, her Web address didn't work and her LinkedIn profile was marginal.
"Before you reach out for partnerships, you have to have a website, business cards and a message that comes across fairly clearly," Engel says. "I need to know more information about you, and you need to communicate more effectively."
Let charities do the heavy lifting
Charitable organizations and non-profits are always looking for new ways to engage their donors. You can get them to send out press releases, newsletter articles and e-mails mentioning your business in return for a percentage of your profits, goods or in-kind services.
To promote the new book he co-authored, Guerilla Marketing Goes Green, Shel Horowitz, an author, marketing consultant and copywriter specializing in small business, worked with Green America, donating a percentage of the first month's sales.
"They gave us nice exposure on the website and to 94,000 subscribers to their newsletter," Horowitz says, and a search showed 1.7 million mentions of the book.
It's vital that the organization's values are aligned with your own, Horowitz advises. "Green America fit like a glove,' he says.
But be aware that some non-profits may have such a deep bureaucracy that it's too cumbersome to work with them. The first org that Horowitz approached couldn't come to an agreement with him. Green America, on the other hand, took just two phone calls to make a deal.
Depending on the size of the organization and whether it's national or local, you might contact the executive director, director of community relationships or director of donor relationships.
Be creative and explore
You can think of a way to partner with almost any other business, Horowitz says. For example, a dry cleaner could team up with the Italian restaurant down the street.
"Italian food often leads to messy clothes," he says.
The dry cleaner could provide the restaurant with coupons for a discount, saying, "You don't want tomato sauce to stain your tie." The dry cleaner, in turn, could offer discount coupons for the restaurant saying, "Celebrate your clean suit."
Find partners with a broad reach
Pauline Bartel, president of Bartel Communications, had a new marketing concept: The Bartel Years is a roster of symbols for a century of business anniversaries. She also offers The Bartel Way, an integrated marketing and public relations strategy that positions products and services within the context of celebrating a business anniversary.
To get attention—and social proof—Bartel knew she needed a partner that was in touch with her target market (and was about to celebrate an anniversary). She found it in her area's Chamber of Commerce.
"I realized that by partnering with the Chamber, I was creating an advocate. If this campaign went well, the chamber would spread the word about my services to members and beyond," Bartel says.
She offered her services pro bono for the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County, which was marking its 40th anniversary. The resulting campaign was incorporated into all aspects of the yearlong celebration—and of the Chamber's marketing and communications.
The campaign was a huge success, winning industry awards and leading to more than 1.5 million positive print and broadcast media impressions.
Bartel says, "The marketing campaign for our new concept and services positioned Bartel Communications as the business anniversary experts, providing my firm with a unique business niche."
Image credit: Helena Eriksson
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