Wildly Popular Way to Attract & Delight More Customers

Recruit Many Partners to Attract More Customers at Less Cost – Together

Last Valentine’s Day, several neighborhood businesses and organizations including a family restaurant, florist, medical clinic, health food store, clothing boutique, shopper newspaper, city parks department, fitness gym, bookstore and beauty salon joined forces for a month-long promotion to attract and serve women, especially those 30 and older.

The bookstore hosted a series of “Beauty Inside Out” - themed in-store demonstrations and mini-seminars, each led by the owner of a partnering business and highlighting three related books plus the partners’ pertinent products and services.

Each presenter provided a handout that included reference to at least one of the other partnering organizations, plus a joint offer of services with one of them. As well, each presenter wrote a guest column based on their presentation, which was featured in the shopper newspaper, with the author’s follow-up offer and e-mail noted at the bottom of the article. Of course each column author quoted partners in this mutually beneficial alliance.

What’s the lesson?

We’re living in an over-advertised world and competition is getting smarter, but you can too. Become your kind of customers’ top-of-mind choice  - with the right partners and methods. Start SmartPartnering.

More than “solo” advertising, marketing or promotion, partnering – in smart ways - can generate the kind of genuine extra visibility and value that naturally attracts more sales.

As the author of three books on this approach and creator of over 100 profitable partnerships, I can show you exactly how to adapt it to your kind of business.

To get inspired, here’s more successful snapshots of smart partnering that you can adapt to grow your business faster.

Co-brand a Product to Gain a Warmed-up Introduction to Your Partner’s Customers

That’s how Applebee’s and Weight Watchers attracted new customers without advertising more. When Weight Watchers designed and branded low-cal menu items for Applebee’s, followers of their diet program could eat out without guilt, at Applebee’s.  Applebee’s fans got a first-hand introduction to Weight Watchers.

Become a Bigger Customer Magnet by Joining Forces to Offer More Helpful Tips

When pillow-maker, Leo Hollander decided to drop private labeling work in favor of launching his own brand, he recruited complementary partners. On his "Live Comfortably” web site, he provides articles by a feng shui expert, a chiropractor, and a color specialist.  Result?  He boosted all partners’ visibility and credibility – in front of their mutual market of customers.

Offer Special Touches That Your Competition Doesn't

Holiday Inn Express partnered with Kohler to roll out a SimplySmart shower program, giving guests the opportunity to try Kohler’s new multi-function showerhead and in-room spa features. That delighted guests so much that the Holiday Inn then collaborated with the childrens' TV folks to create Nickelodeon Family Suites, offering a water park, arcade and other family-friendly attractions.

And, who knows how many people chose to stay at the Ritz Carlton during one Fall, rather than at another luxury hotel because of an added thrill, complimentary use of a brand new Mercedes during their stay?

Become a One-of-a-Kind Business  - with “Halo” Co-Branding

Over 80 U.S. campus newspapers wrote favorably about a hip new Dutch fashion label called 50/50.  After the years of controversy about clothiers’ use of sweatshops, it was the first time many of the students had seen a favorable story about clothes manufacturing.

50/50 designs clothing from Salvation Army cast-offs. It shares profits with The Salvation Army whose blankets, curtains and dungarees eventually show up on racks as skirts, pants and belts, each accompanied by a flyer with Salvation Army's and 50/50’s message: people need each other and nobody should be excluded from society.

Get Introduced to Prospective Buyers Where Your Competition Isn't Even in Sight

That’s why those who fly on Delta Air Lines airlines now see cabin interiors and flight attendant uniforms created by clothing designer Kate Spade. How can you display or use each other’s products and services – and improve the customers’ experience while cutting your overhead?

Deepen Your Customers Emotional Bond With You, in How You Support a Local Cause – With Them

A month after Hurricane Charley and tropical storm Bonnie, when a storm the size of Texas pummeled parts of Florida, their *neighbors* in Florida and Georgia were given a small way to help with storm relief efforts.

When they shopped at the local Winn-Dixie grocery stores they could "even it up" at the checkout counter.  That is, they can round up their food bill to the next dollar or more, with the extra change going to the local Red Cross chapter for relief efforts.

Many of the retailers and non-profits who worked together forged a second alliance faster (they knew each other better) to create bus caravans for their food-direct-to-Katrina-folks.

Demonstrate a Partner’s Product in a Way That Attracts More Interest for You Both While Reducing Your Overhead

That's how T-shirt designer Tami Minatelli could exhibit at nine street fairs last summer without paying for her booth space. A manufacturer of a new, unique, no-stain suntan lotion paid for Tami’s booth. Because she wore their lotion and her T-shirts, with a sign above her head, describing her original painting-on-cotton method and the lotion’s “do no harm” guarantee. Next to burn protection, that’s the biggest concern of people who use suntan lotions.

Give Your Niche Market Something They'll Want to Talk About

Imagine this conversation-starter to reach and entertain men who frequent bars, sports arenas and restaurants. It's the Wizmark, otherwise called an "interactive urinal communicator,” by its inventor, an electrical engineer and chiropractor. As men step up to the urinal they will activate, with the slightest movement, a sensor that prompts red lights to flash, crunchy guitar chords to sound and a commercial announcement to appear. Yes women, the male response has been positive.

This isn't the first time that public restrooms have been invaded by partnerships. At the National Basketball Association finals in Detroit in 2004, liquid-activated urinal mats proclaimed "Beat L.A." AllOver Media, partnered with bars and restaurants to install 15-inch liquid-crystal-display screens above urinals in Minneapolis and Indianapolis. Men raved about it.  Right partnership for the right people and place.

Co-Create Over-the-Top Products That Provide Another Reason to  Buy - and Attract Media Coverage*

That’s why Volkswagen's Beetle and BMW created an in-car adapter to accept iPod music players by Apple Computer Inc.

Decorated with 1,000 crystals (one for each of the 1,000 songs it can store), some spectacularly expensive iPod minis attracted priceless publicity by "Crystallized with Swarovski" as have some cell phones and pianos.

Let Your "First-of-a-Kind* Story be Optimally Timed for All Partners

That’s why Oprah Winfrey and General Motors could *make dreams come true* for audience members and reap millions of dollars of free media coverage. Women were escorted out to the parking lot where they saw rows of beribboned Pontiac 6Gs to drive away. What a way to kick off the 19th season of The Oprah Winfrey Show and be top-of-mind for TV watchers and car buyers.

That's why this summer you’ll have another reason to buy Adidas’ trendy new walking shoe. It will sport striking-looking and cushy Eagle F1 tire treads from the tire giant Goodyear.

Become a Bigger Customer Magnet – Together

That’s what happens when pediatricians join forces with pizza store managers school principals, city health clinic directors and others to better reach and serve their common base of customers:  families with young children?

Together, they did what they could not have accomplished on their own.  They offered a highly valued, emotionally-loaded and media-attracting service AND increase foot traffic into their stores and offices:  "I Am Loved" free immunizations for kids on Saturdays just before school started.

Pediatricians gave immunization shots at convenient times in a roomy, cheerful childrens' store, with a party atmosphere where the kids were the center of attention.  Parents heard about the offer through all the participating outlets and received free snack coupons after the kids received their shots so they could reward their children with a snack from a nearby store. Partners could provide better, more news-catching service at less cost  - and inspire greater community and customer loyalty.

Involve Your Cause Partner in Making the Purchase of Your Product Good for Their Cause

That's how firefighters in one town got a badly-needed but expensive piece of equipment, a deluge gun, without asking their cash-strapped city council for a single dime.

Here's how.  Business was slow all over their town. The firefighters were getting nowhere when they asked for donations from business owners experiencing a weak economy.

Yet when they approached the manager of a local pizzeria, he said he had an idea about how to raise more money – together. "Here's what we can do. Pick a Wednesday, say four weeks from today for an “Fire-Fighting Pizza” party here. I make $500 or so on Wednesdays. On that day, after we sell $500 worth, every dollar after that I'll split sales 50/50 with you. You can raise more money than you just asked me for."

The firefighters loved the challenge. They prepared banners and asked permission from the local supermarket and gas stations to put them up on their outside walls. They had smaller signs and announcements printed for free by the local copy shop with a bright red *donated by * credit line to the copy shop.

The headline on the signs and flyers read, “Eat at Pizzeria. Save a Local Life”. They visited offices complexes, even those with signs that read "No soliciting." (Who's going to kick out the fire department, right?) They went to apartment complexes, video rental outlets, grade and high schools. They put flyers and signs everywhere. Once people heard about their cause, handing out flyers was like giving away candy. The radio morning DJ did an on-air interview with two firefighters. The shopper newspaper ran a story with photos of firefighters holding up a sing while stand at the back of their fire engine.
 
When the Wednesday‚ comes around, the pizzeria is packed from noon through midnight.  They made enough money to get the Deluge Gun. Most importantly ˆ it was a fair partnership because everyone contributed, so participants are likely to want to work together again.

When Partnering Backfires …

Warning: with the wrong partners or methods, your efforts can backfire You may irritate or even alienate prospective customers and supporters.

Two quick examples:

1. New York Mayor Bloomberg’s attempt to override other public officials with a unilateral deal to put Snapple – exclusively - in vending machines in city offices and schools – backfired.  He got a barrage of bad publicity from angry local leaders.

2.  American Airlines partnered with companies to plaster their ads on the plane’s pull-down trays.  Talk about in-your-face invasive promotion. They’ve since dropped the idea in the wake of a hailstorm of protest.

Pick Your Partners with Care

One must pick partners with great care. Notice how one*sweet* cause campaign got lambasted while another attracted praise.

"Maybe Krispy Kreme should offer free coupons for insulin and syringes to the kids who end up with diabetes," said Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert. Krispy Kreme was criticized by this watchdog group for its longtime program of rewarding students in kindergarten through sixth grade with a free doughnut for every A on their report card in communities across the country.

Yet there is nary a peep of protest when M&M teamed up with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to raise funds through the sale sweets - new "pink & white" M&M candies. In short, on behalf of a cause to keep women healthy, groups are jumping on the bandwagon to encourage people to buy a candy that is certainly no more nutritious than a donut.

In light of the alarming leap in obesity in the U.S. some long time partners may attract controversy today, as Krispy Kreme is learning the hard way.

The lesson?  Stay clear of controversy. But recognize that partnering is a fast-growing trend because of its power. You can use it to stand out from your competition or provide a fresh reason for people to support your cause or buy your product.  You, too, can become a bigger customer magnet.

The second lesson for you? 
Don’t waste any more time. Start your SmartPartnership now.

What businesses and other organizations are most popular with your kind of customers?  Recruit them now – this “A Team” of most valuable partners -  before your competitors do. 

Enjoy the Bountiful Benefits of SmartPartnering ...

  Act now to grow your business, association, club or other organization faster, and …
    •     Get introduced to prospective customers by people they trust.
    •     Reach more hot prospects more frequently and credibly.
    •     Become the trusted expert for your key media to quote
    •     Provide customers extra value without incurring extra costs.
    •     Support causes in ways that attract more spending.
    •     Motivate more people to make compelling referrals.
    •     Keep your organization on the cutting edge.
    •     Stabilize your business during slow times.
    •     Inspire increased per-customer buying.
    •     Become more profitable without working more.
    •     Make friends as your success is their success, and vice versa

Remember, the bottom line benefit of this trend is that at the very least, with the right partner and method, you get introduced to each other's customers.

 Read my article on profitable partnering in the Wall Street Journal's Startup Journal