The Cart and the Carwash: How To Boost Business With Strategic Alliances

By: Angel Brown
Submitted: 2007-01-17 12:03:35
Print this article | Tell a friend | For publisher |

Rating:

 

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 you can advertise for free on your local TV station's 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.

Angel Brown is the Founder and President of the Women's Business Gallery (http://www.womens-business-gallery.com), the ART of business specialists, providing women entrepreneurs and small business owners with the information you need to succeed.

Article source: Expert Articles