Joint Ventures: The key to results.

[AaronC]

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Joint Ventures: The key to results.

Written by Aaron Colman
info@ibasics.biz
http://www.ibasics.biz

Ever wanted to form one of those nifty "Joint Venture"
things?

One of the most powerful marketing techniques around is
to form an alliance with another company.

A few types of joint ventures:
* Swapping space - Do you have a place where I
could advertise in your store?
* Sponsored joint products - Could you design a
product that sold both of your products?
* Sharing referrals - Actively passing on
interested clients.
* Passing out business cards - Passively
distributing marketing material.
* Shared marketing campaign - Both organizations
share in the cost and reap the benefits.
* Customer list exchanges
(Being careful of CAN-SPAM provisions)
* A joint newsletter
(A 2 page free newsletter can be very powerful)

One of the trickiest things to do is find someone that
would benefit from an alliance, but not be hurt by your
competition.

To find these people ask yourself some of these questions:
* People that buy from us also buy from whom?
* What other things do people that buy from us also
like to buy?
* What kind of problems does my product or service
help to solve?
* What kind of products or services tend to create
these problems?
* Do the people that buy from me have anything else
in common?
* Does my product help people accomplish things
that require also might require another product or
serve?
* Can I slide up or down the product chain?

Example:
Lets say you sold gardening tools. You wouldn't want to
approach other gardening tool makers, as they're in
direct competition with you. Instead, you might want to
approach landscapers, professional gardeners, sod
companies, fertilizer producers, etc.

Also, realize that your product is just a chain in a
link of products. Again, if you sold gardening tools...
the people that buy them obviously need additional
things to get their garden up and running.

On the bottom of the product chain they need land to
garden on. They need equipment to get the ground ready.

On the higher end of the product chain, if they like to
garden then they probably read about gardening or
belong to a gardening group. Maybe they read about
gardening online.

Sliding up even further up the chain, they're probably
going to do something with the things they grow. Do
they like to grow herbs vegetables? Do they like to
cook? What do they use to cook? Do they collect recipes
about cooking with home-grown fruits or veggies?

** Now where? **
Once you've found a list of potential companies, use a
service like InfoSeek or Switchboard to find companies
in your area. Call them up and ask for the owner. Don't
spend your time trying to force them, just make it
simple:

"I'm a local company that sells gardening supplies and
am looking to ally with other local, related businesses
and am conducting a quick survey."

* What kind of alliances have you formed with others
in the past?

* How strong were those alliances?

* Have you ever been in a joint venture?

* Given that (how your operations relate to theirs) do
you think that you customers might be interested in
gardening supplies?

* Would you object to me passing interested customers
your way?

* If I could find a way to make this mutually
beneficial, would there be any reason why you
couldn't work with me?

* What kind of alliance would you like?
(Brainstorm on this)

Of course these lists are far from complete. I just
hope I've provided enough thought fodder to get your
cogs crankin'. Business partnerships can be an
extremely profitable win-win situation for both of you.
You're helping others while making money. And isn't
that what this is all about?

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Aaron Colman helps you create results on the net,
and specializes in web design and custom script work.
My eCourse - Learn Mastering Internet Lead Generation
at http://www.ibasics.biz/leads