Joint Venture Marketing: Creating Momentum and Getting Started Quickly with Small Steps

If you are the owner of a small to medium sized online business, chances are you’ve heard of joint venture marketing or a joint venture marketing partnership in passing, but weren’t sure if it was the right choice for your business. You may even be a little intimidated by the fancy-sounding professional name, but a joint venture marketing partnership is really a simple and straightforward business strategy that even the smallest companies can easily employ to boost their exposure and, ultimately, their profits.

Getting started with an online joint venture marketing partnership is much easier than you might think. Often, the most difficult step to take of starting something new is the first one, and some people don’t get past the “thinking about it” phase because the prospect seems so daunting. But there is really nothing to fear with embarking on a joint venture marketing partnership. It is quite a straightforward process and simple to execute.

Brainstorming

The first step of a joint venture marketing partnership, and often the most difficult, and the one that tends to stop people in their tracks, is to come up with a list of companies with whom you would like to partner.

In order to do this, you will want to think of the types of companies that would make good joint venture marketing partners, and then go about making a list of specific companies from your first, more general list.

Be Creative

When composing your lists of types of companies, it is important to be open and creative to ideas that pop into your mind that upon first assessment may not seem appropriate. If for instance, you have a wedding cake business, some of the first companies you think to partner with will probably be wedding planners, caterers, and photographers because these businesses are likely to have clients with similar interests to your potential customers, without being direct competitors. But you may also want to think about talking to some local bakeries or party accessories stores. Neither suggestion may be at the top of your list, but they are still potentially profitable joint venture marketing partners.

It may seem counterintuitive to contact bakeries if you have a wedding cake business and this initially seems like it would be direct competition. But not all bakeries offer a wedding cake service, and these are the ones you will want to target. Small neighborhood bakeries often have a loyal clientele, but may not specialize in making wedding cakes. Chances are that the majority of their customers know someone who at some time or another is getting married and will need a wedding cake. It is also likely that these customers will ask their favorite bakeries for suggestions, which is where your joint venture partnership comes in.

Party accessory stores are another good option for a joint venture marketing partnership, and one that may not come immediately to mind. These types of party stores often have wedding accessories, but it is not their main focus. However, even if a wedding clientele is just a small portion of their business, you gain exposure to this niche. It is a great way to boost exposure for your own business.

The thought of embarking on a joint venture marketing partnership may seem daunting, but it need not be. The first step is to brainstorm, and you can even enlist the help of your friends and family for a fun way to get some work done. Invite people over, order pizza and ask everyone for a few suggestions. You’ll have a productive evening, as well as not feel so alone and overwhelmed when embarking on this new phase for your business.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing & Consulting firm empowering business owners to discover and implement Integration, Alliance, and Joint Venture marketing tactics to solve specific business challenges and increase profits. To read more articles related to Joint Venture Marketing, please go to his Joint Venture Blog Site. He can be reached at christian@synertegic.com