Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Profitable alliances
| In business, forming an alliance with another company that has a similar client base to yourself can be highly profitable. The latest alliance to hit the news is Weight Watchers and Myer. Weight Watchers is opening two concession stores in Myer Roselands and Knox City, that if profitable will expand across Australia. It will be interesting to watch the development of this alliance to observe how it is approached, what marketing is put in place and the results. Small business can learn a lot from the "big end of town" with these types of trials. Have a think about what types of businesses work with the same sort of customer base as you do. What can you do to form an alliance with those sort of businesses? Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Putting your business into words Labels: alliances |
Thursday, 6 December 2007
Marketing Tip - Alliances
| Marketing for small businesses doesn't have to be all about beating the competition. Many small businesses think they have to go it alone, do everything themselves and try and dominate their competition. However, the most successful small to medium businesses actively seek out like minded businesses and form alliances. As a result, they can provide integrated and seamless solutions to customers and win more business. For example - I have some great alliances with a few graphic designers and web designers. Often their clients need help sorting out their overall business strategy as well as writing the words to go with their designs, and often my clients need help with the images. This is a major win-win for both of our businesses and the main source of our leads. But your alliances need not only be with complementary businesses - what about ones in "so called" competition? I have alliances with other copywriters - we share direct mail, as well as provide back-up for each other in peak times, when we may be sick or want to take a few days off. We also refer business to each other based on our personal interests and preferences in writing. We believe in an abundance - that there is enough work available for everyone and the more we share the more we grow. Again this is a win-win for our businesses. So, look through your business card pile and work out who you would like to form an alliance with. Who do you like and trust to do great work? Who do you enjoy talking with? If you like them, then it is likely your customers will like them also. Approach them. Have a coffee and talk about how you can work together to get better results for your clients. Share in each others success - it is one of the cheapest strategies for increasing your client base. Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony http://www.heartharmony.com.au/ Business development for small to medium businesses Labels: alliances, marketing tips |