In today’s world, it’s easier than ever to build your own business or brand. You don’t need anyone’s permission and can create exactly what you want from scratch.
However, if you want your business to be successful and sustainable, you will likely eventually want to add partnership marketing into the mix.
Partnership marketing involves many of the same strategies as any other kind of marketing, except instead of using them to increase your sales, you use them to increase your partner’s sales.
This may seem counterintuitive at first glance; after all, shouldn’t you be more focused on your own business than on helping someone else? However, the answer to that question depends on many factors, not the least of which is whether or not your partner will be promoting you and your product or service in return.
Read on to learn more about this form of marketing and why you should choose it to help with your bottom line.
The old days of marketing were simple. A company would come up with a product and sell it directly, promoting it as much as possible.
But now, thanks to the Internet, people are more knowledgeable about the products they buy. They want their options in the market and what different companies have to offer them, so companies find partners who can offer them these services or products that help promote their own service or product. This is what's called partnership marketing.
If done correctly, this type of marketing will not only increase your customers' options but also help you get better at what you do by showing you what your customers are interested in and help differentiate your company from competitors.
Think of partnership marketing as your first date: you're getting together with someone you really want, you're a little nervous, and both parties are trying to impress each other. Partnering with a company that compliments what you have is like going on an amazing first date. Having the right partner will allow your business to flourish and provide the best support network possible.
In addition, partnering up allows your company to expand into new markets and capture more leads than it would be able to alone. It's important for companies of all sizes to explore this option because the possibilities for success are vast. And there's no need to go it alone!
With partnership marketing, your company can broaden its audience and grow its revenue. You'll also have less competition, allowing you to stay ahead of the game while providing customers with a better product or service. These relationships also create strong partnerships and lasting friendships that extend beyond marketing campaigns.
Trust me, a good relationship between two companies can lead to awesome benefits for both parties in the long run.
Partnership marketing is the process of partnering with like-minded companies to achieve mutual objectives. Essentially, this is a way for you and your partner company to grow through mutually beneficial collaborations.
Creating partnerships requires both parties to identify, analyze, and find areas in which their offerings align to set goals together for an ROI-focused approach. Then, you can form a partnership with a little time and effort.
There are many benefits to this sort of partnership; customers will see you as being much more reputable if you've partnered with a well-known brand, and your partner may help subsidize costs for some components of your business (for example, getting an endorsement from another company). Lastly, it helps diversify your customer base.
While advertising is a great way to introduce your product or service, it is not always cost-effective. Partnering with another company may provide more value for you if they can provide you with some sort of service that is complementary.
For a partnership marketing campaign to be successful, the companies need to have shared interests and needs. In other words, these companies are trying not only to sell their products but also to establish a deeper relationship by exchanging services.
A good example would be a shoe store partnering with a restaurant chain in the same mall. The shoe store could advertise on the restaurant’s menu and website in exchange for letting customers leave their shoes at the restaurant while dining out, so they don’t have to carry them around.
This creates goodwill from customers since now two establishments are looking out for them instead of just one.
While many partnerships start off great but eventually fizzle out due to changing circumstances or differing expectations, it doesn't mean every single partnership ends badly. In fact, there are plenty of success stories where the relationship between companies continues to thrive for years.
The key is to remember that partnerships require dedication from both sides and a willingness to compromise at times.
There are up to 12 different types of partnership marketing, but no matter what type of partnership you choose, ensure it aligns with your brand and won't violate any ethical standards.
They include:
Let's expound on each type of partnering marketing briefly.
Affiliate marketing is where an online retailer partners with other people or businesses (affiliates) to sell its products. It provides monetary compensation in exchange for referring customers who purchase something advertised by a particular website.
Affiliates are often bloggers or YouTube stars with a significant following who can earn cash without needing to invest any money upfront into their product.
A well-known example of affiliate marketing is Amazon’s use of bloggers who are given links so that if someone clicks on it and buys something on Amazon, it will send some commission back to them.
For this kind of marketing, two companies combine their brands into one product, such as Pepsi with Starbucks coffee beans in their cans, which they advertise together.
In this form of partnership, the company provides information and content for a blog or magazine or creates advertising content for a publisher.
Cross-promotion is when a company agrees to advertise another company's product on its website, as well as provide links for the customer's convenience. In some cases, the company that provides the link is compensated for doing so with either money or advertising space on its site.
This form of alliance between businesses encourages salespeople from each business to refer new customers to each other
For these partnerships, companies share distribution channels to save costs and increase sales volume by targeting different markets
Influencer marketing is when you work with social media stars like makeup artists, YouTube vloggers, bloggers, and other content creators who could help promote your products.
This is one of the most common forms of partnership marketing, where one party purchases licensing rights for another party's intellectual property.
Partnerships are built on an enduring relationship with your customers, where you deliver benefits to them without necessarily expecting anything in return.
Product placement involves placing your product/service in a movie or television show in return for payment from a film producer.
Many large global brands like Coca-Cola and Mc Donalds pay big bucks to become official sponsors of global events and gain exposure through broadcasting.
In some cases, companies will have a similar product they sell under their brand name and allow another company to buy and resell it as their own.
Just as the different parts of your body each perform a specific function, different types of marketing serve their own roles.
Digital marketing specializes in creating compelling content that engages your target audience and prompts them to take the desired action, like signing up for your email list, buying something from you, or filling out a form on your website.
Marketing partnerships are typically more effective at driving awareness and interest in your brand.
The best way to determine which type of marketing is right for you is by assessing your business's needs today and what it needs tomorrow. Then, you can tailor your strategy accordingly if you understand how both digital marketing and partnership marketing work.
Partnership marketing is most effective when you need help attracting new customers and promoting your products to various people. Your goal should be growing your customer base so consider partnering with companies that offer similar products or services that appeal to a similar demographic.
By developing collaborative relationships with other businesses, they'll be able to provide referrals while you'll promote theirs while improving profitability on both ends!
The difference between these two forms of marketing lies in their focus: digital marketing focuses on engaging your audience through content that is relevant to them, such as blogs, emails, etc., whereas partnership marketing focuses on the distribution of your company's name to a large number of potential customers.
With good planning and well-chosen partners, either one can be used effectively; however, before you choose one or the other, ask yourself some questions:
Partnerships allow brands to tap into the expertise and network of other companies without needing the same resources themselves.
No matter which route you decide, consider how digital marketing and partnership marketing might fit within your overall goals before making any final decisions.
It may seem that the two are the same, but partnership marketing and display advertising are different in many ways.
Partner marketing focuses on getting other people (or companies) to do some of the work for you, so it's less of a financial risk. On the other hand, display advertising is much more hands-on and can lead to success as long as someone manages it full-time. There are also 5 main differences between partnership marketing and display advertising:
Risk is always something we have to think about when it comes to starting a business or spending money on anything. With partner marketing, your risks are reduced because you're not doing all the work yourself; you're getting others involved too.
On the other hand, with display advertising, your risks go up because you're doing everything yourself.
One big difference between partner marketing and display advertising is how much time each requires of its creators or managers.
With partner marketing, you don't need to spend excessive time looking for potential customers since the partners will find customers for you. Instead, you must ensure they send over leads from their contacts. On the other hand, with display advertising, it can take up most of your day to find new and relevant ads every day or week, depending on what system you choose.
Another difference between these two methods is how much work each one entails. Partner marketing means you'll be able to offload some of the responsibility onto other companies while keeping a close eye on things and still being in control.
While with display advertising, it takes a lot of dedication to keep your ads running smoothly, there's no one else who will do it for you.
The rewards associated with these two types of marketing differ greatly as well. For example, partner marketing offers greater potential to grow as you expand your network. In comparison, display advertising offers greater potential for immediate reward by giving away something in return for viewing an ad.
Lastly, the cost is another thing that makes these two completely different types of marketing strategies. Partner marketing is generally cheaper than the upfront cost of a display advertisement campaign, and it allows you to work on building partnerships rather than searching for advertisers who want to place ads with you right away.
Partnership marketing is most effective when companies are targeting similar audiences.
For example, Apple and IBM partnered on their iPhone and IBM 360 product lines because they share many of the same target markets, including business customers. Apple's advertising strategy was extended over to the IBM brand with an integrated campaign.
As such, this type of partnership usually is only worthwhile if both brands have something different that they can offer each other's audiences. One company may have better knowledge about certain aspects of the industry than another partner, for instance. When this happens, it makes sense for them to work together to expand their reach in that area.
Hence, partnership marketing is a great way to connect with customers. By bringing in partners, you can market your product without having to spend a lot of money. Therefore, you should evaluate if partnership marketing is the right fit for your business needs.
The power of a partner is immense. Especially one that understands the things you care about most. A company's marketing can take on many different forms, and an effective partnership is one of the most beneficial.
As a growing business, you might have just expanded into a new market you're unfamiliar with, which can be both time-consuming and costly. Partnering with another company in your industry not only saves time and money but helps promote your brand as well.
Additionally, partnering up with another company can help provide better customer service to your current customers or reach a wider audience. It also creates opportunities for cross-promotion where your target audience sees or hears about each other's products or services, thus increasing sales for both companies.
Help yourself by partnering up today!
We hope this guide has provided you with some helpful insights and knowledge on partnership marketing, and we hope it will help you build your successful marketing campaign.
Whatever strategy you employ in the end, remember that there are many ways for brands to market themselves, whether a classic ad campaign or working with someone else.
Take some time in the future and think about your goals for marketing, where your budget is coming from, and what values are most important to your brand. Your choice of strategy can ultimately come down to preference because there really is no one-size-fits-all approach.
Regardless of how you partner with other brands, always ensure that both parties are benefiting and are interested in the same things before making any agreements. It's important to research beforehand to know what type of partner would work best for your needs. If not, then you might be wasting resources on partners who don't understand your business as they should.