January 07, 2006
Vol. II, Issue 01
Hello to All,
Welcome to this issue of The ART of Business newsletter and a big welcome to all the new subscribers. I hope you enjoy this week's feature article, The Cart and the Carwash: How To Boost Business With Strategic Alliances. If you're looking for ways to increase your business income and save on business expenses too, you might want to consider partnering for profit.
The Cart and The Carwash: How To Boost Business With Strategic Alliances
Many small business owners struggle with promotions and marketing. Managing day-to-day operations is challenging enough without the added work that marketing involves, but since marketing is what brings your clients in, you need to do something to attract customers. It doesn't have to be expensive, just effective.One highly effective, but often overlooked, strategy is partnering for profit, also known as forming strategic alliances. By partnering with other business owners to cross-promote each other's business, both companies benefit in a variety of ways--the most important of which is making more money. Both businesses also enjoy heightened visibility from the publicity their joint venture creates.
A Real-World Example
To see how this works in the real world, let's take a look at The Cart and The Carwash.
In the small town near where I live, word-of-mouth is the best advertising you can get. Many small business owners have learned that newspaper ads, radio commercials, and expensive billboards don't bring in the business. It's what their neighbors and customers say about them that gets them noticed. Especially when two or more of them join forces in a publicity campaign that gets the whole town talking.
A perfect example is the recent alliance that sprang to life when a new full service carwash opened. After spending thousands of dollars to advertise their new business, the owners were sorely disappointed by the dismal return on their investment.
Then a few weeks after opening, another business owner in town drove in to get his truck washed. During the summer months, this businessman ran a hot dog cart, which, in Colorado, is unusual, so it gets noticed. He mentioned to the carwash owner that if they wanted to do a grand opening gala, he'd be willing to set up on their site to attract attention. They gladly accepted his offer and a new alliance was born.
After the grand opening event, which was a big hit with the customers, the carwash owners wisely decided to institute a "Customer Appreciation Day" on the first Saturday of every month. They'd give away free hot dogs and sodas and promote the event with posters and sandwich-board signs around town.
A deal was struck with the hot dog cart owner wherein the carwash owners would purchase all the food and drinks and the cart owner would cater the event for a set fee for his time. Since the cart owner didn't normally run his cart during the winter months, this brought in extra income for just a few hours of his time, and word spread like wildfire through town that the new carwash was giving away free food. You can imagine the resulting stampede this caused!
Now, on every Customer Appreciation Day Saturday, there's a line of cars waiting for the carwash, and both business owners are ecstatic. The cart owner is making more money and getting free publicity for his business, the carwash owner more than doubles his usual Saturday business, and the customers are thrilled to get a "free lunch." It's a winning situation for everybody.
Make Profitable Partnerships Work for You
As you can see in the above example, strategic alliances can pump up your profits in a way that no "traditional" advertising vehicle can. Think "outside the box" for ways that you can partner with other business owners to bring in more business. Try co-hosting an event, like an Open House or a Customer Appreciation Day in which you give away freebies, or sponsoring a fundraiser, which gets free advertising on most local TV stations' Community Calendar. By increasing the public's awareness about your business with cross-promotional efforts, you'll bring in more traffic and build your business's credibility far beyond what just paid advertising will do.
To learn more about how you can:
- Save on expenses
- Use bartering and co-ops to save money
- Build business with B2B connections
- Profit from networking
- and more!
order our new Special eReport, Partnering for Profit: How To Boost Business With Strategic Alliances.
Newsletter subscribers pay only $7.95 (a $9.95 value) when you purchase before January 15th. Start the New Year off right. Your small investment now could bring in big returns in the future. Click here to order now.
Best wishes to all for a profitable New Year.
Wishing you all the best,
Angel Brown
www.womens-business-gallery.com
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends and co-workers. You can subscribe to this newsletter by visiting:
www.womens-business-gallery.com/newsletter.html
Copyright 2006 by Angel Brown. All rights reserved.
Published by the Womens Business Gallery, Woodland Park, Colorado