Try Co-Marketing with a Complementary Business

It's a waste of your time and money to woo people who will never be customers simply because they don’t want or need what you’re selling. So determining your target market should be the first step of any advertising campaign. If only someone would identify that target market and prime it for your marketing message! Oh, wait – they did.

You already have leads, followers, past customers and other contacts, but to grow your business, you need to also grow that contact list. Guess what? All those business owners you meet at networking events have the exact same problem as you. The solution could be in joining forces.

You don’t have to buddy up with your fiercest competitor, although in certain circumstances that may be a good option, but working with businesses that are complementary to yours can reap great benefits for both of you.

If you sell teapots and she sells tea, undoubtedly you share the same target market. But your inventory doesn’t overlap and customers will be pleased to buy from both of you. Marketing together makes a lot of sense. Her contacts are already pre-qualified leads for you and vice versa. And you can share marketing costs as well if you plan a campaign together.

• Hey, mortgage banker looking to expand into a neighboring town! Meet realty professional who is a specialist there.  We’ve known you both for years and think you’ll work well together.
• And senior care giving expert, we’d like to introduce you to a moving company that focuses on helping seniors downsize. While you’re here, say “hello” to a real estate broker who just received senior services accreditation.
• But our favorites are the businesses complementary to our own:  professional coaches, advertising agencies, printers, accountants and many other service suppliers for the business owner.  Together, we provide a suite of support to help owners run their companies more efficiently for achieving greater success. We are thrilled to offer tips   by our guest bloggers in our bi-weekly email newsletter. By asking them to share their professional expertise with our clients, it expands the network for everyone – win-win-win!

Brainstorm a bit to figure out what businesses might be complementary to yours, and at your next networking function, listen more and talk less. You’ll get beyond the superficial “elevator speech” and really start to make connections. Even if you don’t meet someone complementary to you right away, you’ll find yourself introducing people to each other. You’ll be known as a matchmaker and your own network will grow.