Benefit from the single SMARTEST way to grow your business. Learn more about partnership marketing and discover how to get referrals! It’s easy.
This is part 6 of a 6-part series on increasing sales through boosting the leads your website generates.
The Single SMARTEST Way To Grow Your Business
I want to talk about one of the FASTEST and best ways to grow your business.
There are only so many hours in each day, and it’s always 24!
You can also only work so hard, as well as keep a healthy work-life balance.
What’s The Smartest Way To Do It?
Partnerships.
Partnerships marketing is a great way to leverage another person’s strengths and in turn, you can offer your own strengths to their business.
What’s The Result?
The result is that both businesses become stronger and can accelerate their growth.
I know you’re probably thinking that this is complicated but actually it’s quite easy.
Over the next few days, I’m going to cover a few key aspects of how you can easily do this online.
Why Are Google, Microsoft, Starbucks, Apple & Wallmart So Big?
Why Do These Big Companies Succeed?
Google, Microsoft, Apple, Starbucks, and Wal-Mart are category killers.
Why? One key to their astounding success is that they have mastered the art of creating highly attractive partner and customer value propositions.
They have all built their business on the principles and practices of ‘Partnership Marketing’ to offer superior products, create long-term distribution opportunities, and new revenue streams for their businesses, and increased brand awareness on a world-wide level.
They’re experts at it.
Why Do They Do Partnership Marketing?
Because it works insanely well.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur working to expand your customer base and increase value or a company looking for cost-effective ways to stimulate growth and brand presence on a tight budget, partnership marketing is extremely effective.
Why Do Most Companies NOT Do Partnership Marketing?
I think it’s because they haven’t really thought about it as a strategy.
They’re just too busy with the day-to-day activities of running the company.
What’s The Biggest Issue With Partnership Marketing?
Trust.
It really does come down to trust. You can both benefit yet you don’t do it. The reason you don’t is trust.
Is Partnership Marketing Worth The Risk?
What if we reduce the size of the risk DRAMATICALLY?
It’s totally worth it.
I’ll show you a simple way to start out using this marketing strategy for ANY size business.
Avoid This Mistake. It’s Why Partnerships Fail.
We’re looking at how well partnerships work, how the big companies do it extremely well, and yet many companies don’t do it.
We said it was because it was due to a lack of trust.
Another Reason Companies Don’t Do Partnership Marketing
Difficulty to roll out.
But, I want to address the first issue.
Lack of trust.
Why Is There a Lack Of Trust?
This comes down to communication. People are happy to try new things, but if they feel that they are taken advantage of, they’ll stop trying.
How this practically works out in a partnership, is that there needs to be a transparency and open communication channel.
Trust grows. It never starts out fully formed from the start.
A Small Example Why Partnership Marketing Fails?
Let’s say I refer 30 people to your business and you don’t update me on what happened with them and keep me in the dark. It will feel like they disappeared into a black hole.
I’m then unlikely to refer any more people and it will all fall apart.
A Small Example Why Partnership Marketing Succeeds?
On the other hand, let’s say I refer 30 people and you regularly keep me informed of their status. a short while later I know exactly how many of them became clients and I get my reward for introducing them.
I’d think ‘Hey this works nicely, let me refer some more people.’
Maybe this time I’d refer 50 people.
Are you receiving all the social media benefits? Make sure you do by reading our detailed article!
How Does Trust Grow?
Trust grows over time, through transparency and communication.
The Second Reason Partnerships Fail
Difficulty to roll out.
Let’s look at this in a little more detail.
So you’re excited to roll out a partner program but practically how do you get it off the ground?
Firstly, how do you get your partners to refer your company?
Secondly, how do you keep track of your partners?
Thirdly, how do you keep track of their referrals?
Fourthly, how do they promote your business?
These are great questions and this is another reason partnerships fail.
Both ‘trust’ and ‘difficulty to roll out’ can easily be resolved.
Right now, I’d like you to take a few minutes and think about if there is any group of people who’d be in a good position to refer customers to your company?
Go on, jot them down.
2 Reasons People Might Refer You New Customers
Nobody is an island to themselves. There must be so many people who know great clients for your business.
The question is if it’s in their interests to refer them to you!
People do actions for a reason.
Why Would They Refer Customers To You?
It can be one of many reasons but two common reasons are:
Firstly, financial. You might have an introducers agreement where you pay a referral fee for each client referred. Sometimes your partners spend a considerable sum of money marketing to get these referrals for you and there needs to be a financial reward. (This is just like outsourcing your marketing.)
Secondly, it can be about helping someone, or a persona. In the same way people say ‘You must try that awesome restaurant, it’s got the best steaks in the world!’
There’s no financial gain to recommending a great service, but it’s to help someone out who’s looking for a place to eat, OR it could be that it builds your credibility as a good food connoisseur.
It’s the same with your business.
What You’re Missing Out On
Right now,
There are a huge number of people who could introduce many new customers to your business but don’t.
As I said before it could be that you haven’t asked them, or that there’s a lack of trust.
Isn’t It Time You Did Something?
Don’t you think it’s time to start getting people to refer you to more businesses?
If you already have people referring your business don’t you think it’s time to offer them greater transparency and better communication?
If you get this right it will really boom your business.
How To Do Effective Partnership Marketing
We started out by looking at the question:
What’s The Smartest Way To Grow Your Business?
Through partnerships obviously!
What’s The Result?
The result is that BOTH businesses become stronger and can accelerate their growth.
We then looked at why Google, Microsoft, Starbucks, Apple & Walmart are so big and the key to their astounding success is that they have mastered the art of creating highly attractive partner and customer value propositions.
Why Do People Refer Customers?
Firstly, financial. You might have an introducer’s agreement where you pay a referral fee for each client referred.
Secondly, it can be about helping someone, or a persona.
Why Do Partnerships Fail?
Firstly, lack of trust.
Secondly, difficult to roll out.
How Can You Benefit?
That’s easy. We’ve spent a long time developing a robust and customisable partner system.
We understand that not all clients are the same and that each client will have unique needs for a partnership system.
Our system is EXTREMELY flexible and adaptable to any type of partnership system, but most importantly it’s easy to use. For both YOU and YOUR PARTNERS!
Who’s It Applicable To?
It’s applicable to ALL businesses that want to grow fast.
Your Next Step
If you’d like a little help introducing a partnership system, please take a quick look at our,
Referral Marketing App.
It’s easily customizable and is suitable for most businesses.
Now it’s time for you to get some partners on board!
What’s Next?
That’s the end of our online marketing series:
Join us for another series!
Discover the Exact Phrases to use With a Search Term Analysis
Or view the Lab41 Resources.
