Christian Fea - Collaboration Marketing Strategist

Business owners have to be creative when it comes to cost effective ways to promote a product or service. Advertising has its place, but it is critical that any advertising and marketing efforts have a return on investment. Joint ventures are an extremely effective and low-cost way to market your business and increase profit.

There are many simple ways to step into the joint venture arena. Think about sharing these ideas with a joint venture partner:

• Exchange links on your websites
• Include information in your newsletters about your joint venture partner
• Display information on counter tops
• Place information in shopping bags, billings or other mailings
• Share a booth at a tradeshow or event
• Write articles for each other’s newsletters
• Provide prizes for fundraising events for various organizations
• Become involved with a local non-profit or non-profit event that allows you to be seen as benefactors.

Find businesses and service providers in your industry or a cross-related industry and approach them about with your joint venture idea. Here are some examples of creative joint ventures to get your juices flowing:

• Make up Artist/ Bridal Shop: The make-up artist kept bridal shop and prom information in her kit and passed it to potential clients when she was out on a job. The bridal store displayed the make-up artist’s information on their counter.
• Travel Agent/ Wedding Planner: The wedding planner kept the travel agent information available for her clients to book honeymoons and received a free trip for every so many clients she sent to the agent.
• Real Estate Agent/ Moving Company: The real estate agent negotiated a discounted moving rate within a local area for her clients. The moving company received additional advertising in the agent’s newsletter.
• Small Pet Shop/ Dog Groomer/ Animal Shelter: The pet shop offered the groomer’s services and helped to promote the local animal shelter fundraising events. The groomer offered services to the shelter and the pet shop. The shelter promoted the pet shop and the groomer to people who adopted pets.
• Travel Agent/ Luggage Store/ Non-wrinkle clothing line: The travel agent promoted both the luggage store and the non-wrinkle clothing line. The luggage store included the travel agent’s card and information about the non-wrinkle clothing in their luggage and on the counter. The clothing line consultant promoted the luggage store and the travel agent during her consultations.
  By thinking of scenarios where both parties benefit, joint venture opportunities abound. Pick a target market that you don’t always reach, but your potential joint venture partner does. Then brainstorm as to the type of cross-promotion you would like to do. Bring that to your potential joint venture partner and explain what it is that you envision. Be sure to highlight the benefits to the other party. Also, make sure that you outline what the responsibilities are for each project you work on together. That way, you’ll avoid misunderstandings. Use joint ventures to increase exposure and profit. Be creative and have fun!

Using an affiliate marketing program to promote your product or service via the internet is a no-brainer. Tracking your affiliate traffic can be a bit of a challenge, unless you get an affiliate tracking software to help you with this task. There is a variety of tracking software available. You will need to familiarize yourself with the features and services offered by the different programs, and choose the one that fits both your needs and your budget.

Research your software options

When you are purchasing tracking software, it’s wise to research both the name of the seller and the name of the software. By doing a search, you can see what types of issues other users may have run into. Also, make sure that the instructions come with the software. Sounds silly, but there are some internet scams out there that provide the software, but no information on how to set it up or use it. A reputable software dealer will provide software information, answer questions you may have, and offer a guarantee that his product will work.

Evaluating affiliate software

Before you choose your affiliate tracking software, you should decide exactly what it is you need your software to do. Ask yourself a few questions to help you clarify what you need from your tracking software.

• First, is the software easy to use? You don’t want to spend a lot of time learning how to run a program.
• Can the software be branded to your domain? Some software providers offer this for an additional fee, which can be cost prohibitive. Another option to look for is direct linking, which will allow your affiliates to link directly to your domain name.
• Next, is the software something that can accommodate high traffic volume if the need arises? Stable software is important to you and your affiliates, so be sure to check out the downtime statistics of the software company you choose. Also, take a look and see if the software something that can grow with you as your affiliate network grows.
• How much of the software is automated and how much will you need to do manually?

Once you’ve answered a few of these questions, it’s time to begin narrowing down your options.

Reviewing the pricing structures

Pricing for affiliate management or tracking programs is all over the board. There are straight one-time buys, monthly leasing options, and leasing options with a one-time set up fee. You will need to determine your needs and decide on your budget. Keep in mind that the most expensive programs are not always the best. Stay with a mid-range price point that has the features you need. Ask other business owners who have an affiliate program what software they’re using and how they like it. You can learn a lot from other business owners.

Considering affiliate networks

The alternative to setting up your own software is to join an affiliate network like Clickbank or Commission Junction. This gives you a neutral party to track affiliate performance and handle payments. Also, you have access to affiliates who are looking for products to promote. If you want be fairly hands off, this is a viable option.

Before you enter into a strategic alliance, it is a good idea to decide what it is you hope to see happen as a result of the relationship.  Most strategic alliances have one main mission: to increase sales in such a way that both companies benefit.  You’ve no doubt heard the phrase, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”  Well, there’s more than one way to approach a strategic alliance, but there are a few things to consider before you rush headlong into the relationship.

First, outline a business plan specifically for the strategic alliance.  It doesn’t have to be extremely detailed, but it should create a clear picture that outlines the functions of the participants, the expected contributions from each party, and the anticipated benefits.  Do some research to determine if the alliance you dream of is actually feasible in dollars and cents.

Next, learn all you can about the company you plan to approach.  It doesn’t hurt to have a list of candidate companies for your proposed alliance.  Think of it as interviewing to fill an executive position in your company.  You don’t just want anyone in a high level position.  You want someone who can get the job done.  You may need to interview a couple “candidates” before you find the right fit.

Once you’ve found the right company, you need to find the decision maker within the company to whom you can present your concept.  Sometimes finding a contact within the sales or marketing department to help steer you in the right direction can save you some time and energy.  Or you can simply pick up the phone and try working your way through the corporate jungle by asking, “Who would the decision maker be regarding ____.” (Then, name whatever your project is.)

After you’ve located your contact person, submit a concise proposal.  Explain exactly how the alliance will benefit both parties and if you can, include a financial projection in a spreadsheet format.  Companies are always interested in the bottom line.  Show them the potential profit.

When you’ve secured interest, create a simple contract that lines out who does what, how the money flows, and what the disbursement terms will be.  You want to make sure that everyone understands the role that they play so that there are no surprises.  Follow your gut.  You may think a company would make a great strategic partner, but if your outlook or culture is not the same, you wish you’d never joined forces.

You can create a clause in your contract that states you are going to start small or for a certain amount to time to test the concept.  That way, if personalities or cultures don’t mesh, each of the parties is free to go with no harm done.  However, if things work well, you have a contract in place that will allow you to move full speed ahead when the time is right.

Joint venturing is a wonderful tool to help increase your profit, visibility and market share. Joint ventures leverage the time and resources of the parties involved, and when done properly, should also bring increased value to the customer base of all the parties involved. Successful joint ventures have several things in common.

First, a successful joint venture will have an in depth understanding of the target market it is intended to reach. This is important because joint venture utilize the existing relationships that the other company has formed with its customers. If their customers are not your target market, and vice versa, there’s no sense in forming a strategic alliance because the customers won’t see any value. On the other hand, if you’re both reaching the same market with different products or services, you can create an instant revenue stream, especially if the customer views the product or service you introduce them to via your joint venture partner as something that is an excellent value to them. Remember, value to a customer in your target market doesn’t always mean money or savings. Sometimes value is found in helpful information, time-savings, and value-added services that will enhance their lives.

Joint ventures that instantly provide you with enhanced credibility are worth their weight in gold. Make sure that the company you choose to partner with for your joint venture is one with a sterling reputation with its clients. You can instantly increase your opt-in list when a company with a good reputation recommends your products or service to their people. People love having the legwork done for them ahead of time and are more likely to use a company that is recommended to them by someone they know and trust. When you’re working in a joint venture, be sure you guard the reputation of the company who is recommending you by taking the need to service their customers seriously. They’ve put their reputation on the line for you, and you for them. Make sure you both understand that the customers you’re sharing are a valuable asset for both companies and treat them accordingly.

Another feature of a successful joint venture is the new product or service offerings you can provide to your customer base. Joint ventures are great because you can offer a product or service with little or no investment of time and/or money. And your customer receives products or services through your company that they may otherwise not have received. When a customer feels that you’ve taken additional time to find or pass along quality products or services to them, they will begin to develop a sense of loyalty to your company. Building loyalty in your customers is a key to business success. Keep the customers you have happy, so that you can continue to expand your network via their recommendations. Just be careful that the products or services you are offering via your joint venture agreement are quality products. You don’t want your customers to get the feeling that you’re trying to make a fast buck. Nothing will give them that feeling faster than shoddy performance from your joint venture partner.

Creating a successful joint venture is worth your time and energy. Do your research, understand your target market, and go out and service them.

You should look at the affiliate marketers who are promoting your product or service as one of the best investments you can make in your company. Considering your return on the dollar, affiliate marketers are low cost, low risk, and profit generating assets. It’s a win-win if you play your cards right.

View your affiliates as a valuable component to your marketing plan and treat them accordingly. Affiliates could be viewed as the virtual advertising arm of your company. Most companies invest time and resources into training, retaining and improving their profit producing employees. While your affiliates are not employees, they are profit producing and should be treated as the valuable extension of your company that they are. When you take the time to invest in your affiliates, your affiliates will take the time to promote you.

Many affiliates in this day and age are new to the game of internet marketing. Even those affiliates who’ve been around the block a time or two appreciate companies that make the effort to help their affiliates succeed. Think about it. How many times have you heard that a certain company is a great company to work for – and how many times have you heard the exact opposite? As a company who utilizes an affiliate marketing program, your goal should be to position yourself as a company that your affiliates recommend working for because you have their best interests at heart. Make it your priority to help your affiliates succeed. When your affiliates are successful, you will be successful too.

Have a marketing strategy mapped out that will help those affiliates who are just starting out be able to market your product or service more effectively. Your strategy will not only be valuable for your affiliates, it will also be a benchmark for you to gauge how your affiliate program is doing. You must be able to measure, monitor, and adjust your marketing efforts in order to create the results you’re looking to achieve. If you have no idea how you would like your business promoted, how are your affiliates supposed to know what to do? It’s difficult to maintain continuity in your affiliate marketing program if there is no direction from the top. So take the time to develop a roadmap for your affiliates to follow. That doesn’t mean that you have to create a detailed instruction manual. Most affiliates are entrepreneurial types who are going to want some autonomy, but giving them a sketch of your preferred customer, where they can begin their search for that type of customer and sharing some marketing tips and insights will help your affiliates along the way.

Understand that your affiliates allow you to leverage your efforts times however many affiliates you have. If you have 100 affiliates, you could be leveraging your efforts times 100, assuming you have given your affiliates the tools they need to succeed. One super affiliate can drive as much traffic as 2000 less experienced affiliate marketers. How valuable would that type of affiliate be to your organization? Take the time to invest in your affiliate’s success and see.