You are marketing a business, and you like the idea of forming marketing alliances with other businesses. You want to build a community of other influencers or micro-influencers boosting your voice, and you want to be a helpful partner to them, too. It all sounds good, but where do you start? If you are at the phase of trying to build your list of people to approach, read on. Today, we are talking about how to research potential cross-marketing partners.
Although there are a number of types of partners you could pursue – such as hyperlocal businesses, competitors, or different business entities – a logical place to start is to look for businesses that share a common target market without offering your exact products or services. For many business owners, this is a chance to get your feet wet with the easiest type of alliance to pitch. (Want tips for the pitch? Read here!)
A logical place to start is to look for businesses that share a common target market. #marketing #smallbusiness #smallbiz #smb #business #biztips #entrepreneur
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So, who belongs on that list?
The first thing to do is to make a list of lists. Which categories of businesses could be good partners for you? For example, let’s say you run a massage therapy business. What other businesses out there also provide wellness services? Your list of lists might include acupuncturists, naturopaths, salons, fitness centers, yoga studios, fitness trainers, and other such businesses that focus on wellness or self-care. What if you run a massage business that primarily serves women ages 25-50? Now you can start adding to your list other businesses that serve that market, such as boutique clothing stores or shoe stores. What if one of your services is massage for expecting mothers? Now you can start adding to your list other businesses that serve pregnant women, such as doulas, pregnancy support groups, etc.
The first thing to do is to make a list of lists. Which categories of businesses could be good partners for you? #marketing #biztips #business #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #smallbiz #smb
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Your list of lists is the best place to begin. It will give you a sense of how many options there are for you. It will help tune your frequency to all the possibilities in case you happen upon any of these types of contacts anywhere. If your early outreach in certain categories doesn’t produce much result, it also gives you reason to stay hopeful, because you have so many other categories still to try.
Once you know your categories, now you will want to find specific contacts to reach out to. If you have a hyperlocal business, you are looking for businesses that fall into theses categories in an ultra-specific search area. If your business serves multiple locations, you can do specific searches for each location. If you have an online business with no geographic boundaries, one good category has the potential to produce numerous partners for you across multiple regions.
How do you go about researching those specific contacts?
- Google search. Try looking up the category with a city name. If your category has more than one word, put the whole term in quotes so that the results you get will have that search term exactly. Example: “Fitness center” “Manhattan Beach”
- LinkedIn: You can take the same search approach to LinkedIn as you did with the Google Search. LinkedIn is ultimately a resume search engine. While not everyone has a LinkedIn account, you would be surprised how many contacts you can find.
- Social Media searches: Do you use a social media platform where hashtags are common, such as Instagram or Twitter? This could be a way to see who is using that hashtag. Or look for an influencer in that category and see what pages are following them.
- Local organizations / Chambers of commerce: Is there a local, member-based business association specific to that area? Many of them have directories or member lists that you can research.
- Industry associations: Is there a national association for the industry you want to reach? They may have a member list, or they may have chapter websites with member lists that are more location-focused. Industry associations may also have events where you can introduce yourself.
- Hyperlocal walking guides or directories: Does the region have a directory of featured businesses? Consider this a partner shopping list!
There could certainly be other events or creative options for you to pursue to start building your lists. If you come up with your categories first, you may find that there are unique opportunities available for partner searching for each different category. Be creative and know that a good partner could be anywhere! The work you have done to identify what you are looking for will help you know when you have found it.
The post How to Research Potential Cross-Marketing Partners appeared first on Melissa Forziat Events and Marketing.