Five Ways Joint Venture Marketing Can Build Your Business

Joint venture marketing is a relatively easy way to build your customer base without exorbitant advertising costs. This marketing approach takes full advantage of the experience and reputation of a company in a related field to help you find new clients and get your company name noticed by the people who matter.

There are many ways that joint venture marketing can improve your bottom line, and five of them are listed here.

Reputation

When you are new to your industry, it may be hard to convince potential clients that you have what it takes to keep them happy. However, when your name is associated with another established company within your sector, it automatically gives you credibility in the eyes of clients.  With your name linked to another company, it is much easier to get out and network with other professionals in your field, which will build a positive relationship with the general public and your specific industry even further.

Cost Effectiveness

Some small business owners shy away from “playing with the big boys” because they fear that they don’t have the cash to ante up. However, joint venture marketing is a relatively cheap way to get your business noticed because there is rarely cash to put up front at the beginning. Instead, a company works with you for a share of your profits. While the share might be large at first, the customer base you build will be well worth the investment. Because there is no need for capital at the beginning of the venture, you can start your JV marketing adventure any time.

More Exposure

Exposure is essential if you want to attract more customers to your business, and what better way to expose yourself than with the help of a bigger, more established company in your sector? While your website might see relatively few hits each day, your JV partner may see tens of thousands of hits regularly, and all of those potential clients will find your business name as well. That is an abundance of advertising for very little cash, which is why most small businesses would benefit from this type of arrangement.

Better Competitive Edge

If you want to compete with the bigger companies, you have to get your name out where customers are looking for them. Smaller businesses have serious challenges in showing that they are capable of providing the same goods and service as larger competitors. However, when your name is associated with those larger companies, customers automatically link your business to bigger ones. This gives you a competitive edge, because your company is weighed with the rest of the “big boys” when the customer is ready to spend.

Profits

The bottom line is the bottom line, after all. Some businesses are skeptical of their ability to turn a serious profit through joint venture marketing, since they are offering a lot of their profits to their partner in the beginning. However, the success of this marketing method proves that the ability to attract a multitude of new clients and build a serious reputation in your industry far outweighs the initial costs of a JV partnership.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

How the Dog Whisperer Can Help Your Joint Venture Relationship

Forming a joint venture can be wildly successful, and it can also become a headache. Joint venture partners come in all shapes and sizes. And though most entrepreneurs and business owners are professional in their conduct, many are still difficult to deal with, and personality conflicts can arise. So what can you do to help assure a sound relationship with your JV partner?

Take heed of advice from Cesar Millan, also known as the “Dog Whisperer”. Cesar has become the leading expert in dog psychology and dog rehabilitation. Although his strategies are aimed at canine “pack” instincts, his psychology can work well for joint venture partners as well. Here are some examples:

Calm-Assertive Energy

Cesar advocates that all dog owners display calm-assertive energy. An owner should show a dog that he or she is the pack leader using compassionate and calm methods. Yelling, nervousness, and anxiety are not good qualities of a good calm-assertive leader.

This tip doesn’t mean you have to set yourself apart from your JV partner as the “pack leader”.  Nor does it mean one of you must become the “calm-submissive” type that will obey the commands of the leader.

How this can benefit you and your JV partner is that you both display assertive behavior without becoming emotional. Energy is calm, and both are in control of all communications and tasks.

Set Rules, Boundaries, and Limitations

Cesar teaches that dogs must have rules, boundaries, and limitations to know how to respond to different situations. Your JV is just the same. Both you and your JV partner must set rules, boundaries, and limitations so you both are clear on your roles and responsibilities.

For instance, can you contact your JV partner any time of day? Do you have permission to access your JV partner’s facilities? And likewise, does your JV partner have permission to utilize your equipment? All this and more need to be pre-determined before the JV goes into effect. Your rules, boundaries, and limitations will help you and your JV partner know exactly what to expect from each other.

Clarify “Issues”

An unstable dog is unclear about its role. This causes anxiety, aggression and fear. Cesar Millan teaches that a dog must trust his owner to be a pack leader and know its role in the pack.

Likewise, you and your JV partner must know your roles. Who will perform the marketing? Who will keep the books? Who’s in charge of production? Clarify all these types of issues and you will have a more successful JV “pack”.

Achieve Balance

Ultimately, you want to achieve balance with your JV. Much like Cesar advocates for dog owners, balance creates a harmonic, productive, and happy life. Set and know your limitations and boundaries. Set up roles for you and your JV partner. Let Cesar Millan’s experience with canine psychology teach you similar lessons in JV psychology. All elements should be balanced so both parties are happy with the effort, as well as the outcome.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Make Them a Joint Venture Offer That They Can’t Refuse

Finding the right joint venture partner is difficult enough. Convincing them to join you in a joint business venture can be even harder. If you are a discerning entrepreneur who knows that joint venture success depends mainly on finding the perfect JV partner, then you need to know the ways to make your JV proposal one that cannot be refused.

Many successful business people find they enjoy doing things their way. They made their success the solo route, and plan to continue success in the same way. However, there can be benefit in a JV for these types of business people as well.

Perhaps you found a potential joint venture partner with a great reputation and a wide network of contacts. This could be a great JV partner to have for your business. But what can you offer her? How can you convince her to join you?

Give Them What They Need

First, no potential JV partner will join you without having something in it for them. Your job, then, is to find out what they need and offer it to them through a JV. It may be a benefit such as more money, or even your renowned expertise on a particular business matter. It may even be something that solves a problem for them like tapping a completely unrelated industry market in which you happen to have an extensive database of contacts. Show them the benefits and then you have something to talk about.

Control the Risk

Business ventures always have some element of risk: losing money, hurting the reputation, losing customers, etc. In addition to highlighting the benefits to your potential JV partner, show him or her how you plan to minimize any risks in the venture.

Anyone can say, “This is a great idea!” But ideas are foolish if they are not analyzed for risks. Look at the famous Ford Edsel model of the late 1950s. The new automobile was a great idea to fill the gap between Ford’s lower price range cars and their upper, more luxurious Lincoln models. However, the risks were not controlled in design, manufacturing, or the marketing, and the car was a failure. With this in mind, show your potential JV partner how you can control and reduce risks.

Reduce Time and Effort

Running a small business is a full-time effort. So how could a potential partner have the time to give to your JV? Remember, JVs are a way to help two or more business owners make profit by combining efforts. Perhaps you can offer to do most of the legwork by using the partner’s database of customer contacts. That would reduce the time they are required to give. Or you could highlight your calculations that only 4 to 5 hours is needed each week to make the JV a success. Show them that they can make extra money through your JV with little time and effort.

A perfect JV partner is invaluable. Get out there and find yours. Then make a proposal that they can’t refuse that includes benefits for them, lowered risk, and little time and effort.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Make Them a Joint Venture Offer That They Can’t Refuse

Finding the right joint venture partner is difficult enough. Convincing them to join you in a joint business venture can be even harder. If you are a discerning entrepreneur who knows that joint venture success depends mainly on finding the perfect JV partner, then you need to know the ways to make your JV proposal one that cannot be refused.

Many successful business people find they enjoy doing things their way. They made their success the solo route, and plan to continue success in the same way. However, there can be benefit in a JV for these types of business people as well.

Perhaps you found a potential joint venture partner with a great reputation and a wide network of contacts. This could be a great JV partner to have for your business. But what can you offer her? How can you convince her to join you?

Give Them What They Need

First, no potential JV partner will join you without having something in it for them. Your job, then, is to find out what they need and offer it to them through a JV. It may be a benefit such as more money, or even your renowned expertise on a particular business matter. It may even be something that solves a problem for them like tapping a completely unrelated industry market in which you happen to have an extensive database of contacts. Show them the benefits and then you have something to talk about.

Control the Risk

Business ventures always have some element of risk: losing money, hurting the reputation, losing customers, etc. In addition to highlighting the benefits to your potential JV partner, show him or her how you plan to minimize any risks in the venture.

Anyone can say, “This is a great idea!” But ideas are foolish if they are not analyzed for risks. Look at the famous Ford Edsel model of the late 1950s. The new automobile was a great idea to fill the gap between Ford’s lower price range cars and their upper, more luxurious Lincoln models. However, the risks were not controlled in design, manufacturing, or the marketing, and the car was a failure. With this in mind, show your potential JV partner how you can control and reduce risks.

Reduce Time and Effort

Running a small business is a full-time effort. So how could a potential partner have the time to give to your JV? Remember, JVs are a way to help two or more business owners make profit by combining efforts. Perhaps you can offer to do most of the legwork by using the partner’s database of customer contacts. That would reduce the time they are required to give. Or you could highlight your calculations that only 4 to 5 hours is needed each week to make the JV a success. Show them that they can make extra money through your JV with little time and effort.

A perfect JV partner is invaluable. Get out there and find yours. Then make a proposal that they can’t refuse that includes benefits for them, lowered risk, and little time and effort.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Joint Venture Psychology: Letting Go of Perfection

Are you a perfectionist? Do you obsess over little mistakes? Do you feel like a failure if you don’t succeed every time? Are your projects never complete because “it’s just not quite right”? If you answered yes, you may be a perfectionist.

Although there are some benefits to being a perfectionist, there are also many things you need to let go in order to continue being successful with your JV business and relationship.

Excellence is a goal towards which to strive. It is a noble goal for any business, especially with your JV efforts. However, achieving excellence is not the same as achieving perfection. And many people who are perfectionists confuse the two frequently. If you’re looking to achieve excellence in your JV, it would be wise to gain a healthy sense of perspective.

Don’t Set Out of Reach Goals

Have you set unrealistic goals for your JV business? Many times a perfectionist will “shoot for the stars” and end up being very disappointed when they don’t reach their goals.

Instead, you and your JV partner should set goals that are a stretch, but still attainable. In doing so, you and your JV partner will have something to strive for that is not too easy, but realistic.

Enjoy the Process

Perfectionists have a tendency to never be satisfied unless 100% perfection is achieved. What they should keep in mind is the previous tip and enjoy the process in the meantime. Remember the old adage, “half the fun is getting there”? Enjoy the process of achieving goals. A goal is reached by checking off many steps. Each step is a move forward in the adventure. Learn to enjoy it!

Avoid Paralysis

Many perfectionists also have a tendency to over-analyze things to the point that they suffer from “analysis paralysis”. One reason may be fear of failure. They hesitate to make a decision because they’re afraid they’ll be disappointed if the decision is wrong. This kind of anxiety is unhealthy and certainly unproductive for business.

Instead, learn to make decisions and stick with them. You don’t have to rush or make rash decisions. Do take the time to weigh pros and cons of your choices. However, once you have made a decision with your JV partner, feel free to review the process along the way, but commit to your choice and make it happen.

Learn From Mistakes

Many times, perfectionists believe that mistakes are the ultimate failure. Nothing could be more wrong! Mistakes are the way we learn and improve. Don’t feel that mistakes and setbacks will ruin you or your JV business. Take the proverbial bull by the horns and make the mistakes work for you and improve your tactics, your strategies and your actions.

Joint ventures are a great way for perfectionist to practice letting go. In a solo business or entrepreneur venture, you get to enjoy all the success, as well as the failure. However, with a JV partner, you can learn to compromise and become the achiever.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

How to Use Blogging to Market Your Joint Venture

Social networks have become one of the hottest ways to promote and market business – and blogging is still at the top of the list. If you have formed a joint venture and are looking for new ways to attract and retain customers, then you need to get on board the social networking train. Here’s some great ways you can promote your business on the web.

What is a Blog?

In the 1990s, it was hip to have a website. Internet access grew at an astonishing pace, and any business with a website had a leg up on the competition. Now businesses with an edge are those with a blog.

Blog is short for web log. It’s simply a way to write about your JV and publish it on your website easily, quickly, and with great results. Each blog post acts as its own web page. Thus, it is searchable from major search engines. And the more frequently you update your blog with pertinent information, the better chance your blog will show up on a search result.

You and your joint venture partner can easily set up a blog with no money using free popular blogging sites such as Blogger or WordPress. You can also obtain a unique URL website address for your blog for a small fee.

How Your JV Should Blog

So how do you blog? It’s simple. Write a short article that promotes your JV business in some way. Though some blogs have long posts that are more like never-ending political overviews found in The New Yorker Magazine, people who read blogs on the Internet like to get their information in shorter doses. Try to keep your blog posts to about 300 to 400 words, and that will make it much easier for a follower or potential customer to read.

The content of your blog is the most important thing. You want to post articles and short quips that tell a reader about your business. How can they benefit? How does your JV product make their life easier? What’s in it for them? Tell them all the great news and don’t hold back.

You could write short case studies of how a specific customer benefited from your JV product. Include testimonials from customers as well. If potential customers are going to try your product, they like to know that others just like them endorse it.

A blog can also have short features about you and your JV partner, and other employees of the JV if you have them. What are your interests? What makes you enthusiastic about your JV business? Give customers a reason to know you are human and are just like them.

Blogging can be fun and a great way to promote your JV business. And since setting up a blog is so easy, why not try it? Get on the “blogosphere” today and find your niche in promoting your JV business on the Internet.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Give Your Joint Venture Customers A Reason To Buy

Have you formed a joint venture and experienced less-than-stellar sales compared to your expectations? Usually two or more entrepreneurs or business owners partner up to form a JV with the full intention of making more profit. However, the problem may be in the marketing of your JV product or service. Simply putting a product on the market doesn’t necessarily convince a potential buyer to make a purchase. That’s why you need to use marketing psychology to give your potential customers a reason to choose your product.

Triggering Psychology for Sales

Picture this situation: I recently was at the grocery store standing before an aisle full of different brands of green beans. There must have been 10 or more options, all with different price and packaging. As I stood there scratching my head trying to determine which can would have the best tasting green beans, I found one brand with a simple marketing line: “Picked fresh from local farmers and canned the same day for freshness”.  I remember picking greens beans fresh from my grandma’s garden when I was a kid and enjoying a tasty meal that same evening. I chose that brand because I wanted the same kind of freshness, despite the fact it cost 20% more than the basic generic brand.

This example illustrates why your JV product must differentiate itself from the competition. Consumers are indecisive. Help guide their choice by giving them a reason to buy your JV product. It doesn’t even have to be a proverbial grocery list of reasons. But simply highlighting a few simple benefits can help solidify a consumer’s decision.

Reasons Your Customers Buy

Here is a small list that is by no means complete regarding why your customers buy.

• Price – Some people will always base a decision on price. However, that doesn’t mean your product has to be the cheapest. You could promote that your product costs less than the leading competitor. Or you could charge a premium, but give a good reason why your JV product is worth it.

• Quality – Consumers like quality. Be sure that your product is manufactured or produced using quality and durable materials. Or if you offer a service, make it the best quality service and be sure to explain why it’s better than the other company.

• Innovation – Something new always attracts customers. Highlight how your JV product is innovative and can solve their problems better than standard products seen on the market today.

• Warranty/Guaranty – People also like to know that you will stand behind what you sell. Offering a warranty on a product or guarantying satisfaction can provide them with the impetus needed to buy your product.

Make sure your JV product or service stands out from the crowd. If you want to see your profits expand, then take the time to provide the reasons why customers should buy your product.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

How To Add More Value To Your JV With Intellectual Property

Necessity is the mother of invention. However, invention can be just good business too, especially when two great entrepreneurial minds come together to form a joint venture and develop an innovative new product. If your JV is in business with something new, innovative, and that excites consumers, make sure you make the most of it.

Joint Venture and Innovation: A Perfect Match

A JV joins the minds and resources of two individual businesses or business owners and creates a third business with a new product. Many times, a JV team will discover that their initial enthusiasm for the venture has created something even bigger than their imaginations first suspected. When that happens, and innovation and creativity reign, a truly remarkable thing can happen in the intellectual property world.

Let’s say you are an expert software programmer and an enterprising individual approaches you to form a joint venture using your programming skills and his database designing expertise. The original idea was to develop a database system that would make invoicing, billing, and purchase easier and cross-referenced for coding and authorization for distribution businesses. The final product was such a success that it has found useful application in almost any business that does shipping of manufactured items.

How to Protect Your Innovation

What you and your JV partner created was highly valuable intellectual property. Your patent for the software and licensing potential can shoot your joint venture equity through the roof. If you are working with a JV partner and have developed intellectual property, here are some things you should do to protect it.

• Patents – New inventions, such as the software program, should be patented for your protection. With a sole patent on the product, you can license it for sale or for others to manufacture and sell. Residual income can amount to millions of dollars with the right patent and licensing strategy.

• Trademarks – A trademark can be a highly valuable identification. A product or even your JV business name can be trademarked if it becomes highly reputable and recognizable. A word, phrase, logo, or a combination of these can become a trademark.

• Copyright – A copyright is any creative artistic or literary endeavor that has manifested into a concrete, tangible item. Books, articles, paintings, graphic designs, sculptures, music compositions – all these can be copyrighted and licensed to others for publication, performance, or display. If you and your JV partner create copyrighted material, be sure to carefully manage the licensing and use of these items to increase the maximum profit.

Intellectual property is sometimes overlooked. Take time to make an inventory of the intellectual property developed by you and your joint venture partner. The inventory may surprise you. It is also recommended to hire an attorney who specializes in intellectual property to help not only protect these assets, but to help license them to the maximum benefit of your JV business.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Follow Wal-Mart’s Joint Venture Example

If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur who wants to find a way to increase sales and enter new business arenas, a joint venture is a great way to break into new horizons. An entrepreneur with savvy business acumen can research, find, and negotiate a JV deal with another business that can help achieve new business goals. And a few lessons from the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, may be helpful in finding creative JVs that will help expand your business.

How Wal-Mart Entered India with a JV

In 2009, Wal-Mart started doing business in India for the first time. However, the Indian Wal-Mart is not the typical Wal-Mart retail superstores you see in most every small, medium, and large city in America. Rather, the retail giant formed a joint venture in 2006 with Bharti Enterprises, Inc., one of India’s leading business groups.

For the last three years, they have found a way to do business in India that complies with the strict government foreign-business investment restrictions and does not compete with domestic retailers. Rather than be an everyday retail store, the new Indian Wal-Mart is a wholesale business catering to the specific needs of vegetable vendors, hospitals, restaurants, and hotels, operating under the name BestPrice Modern Wholesale.

Wal-Mart is a world leader in consumer marketing and product logistics. Even you can take lessons from Wal-Mart’s India presence. Here’s how:

Find The Right JV Partner

First, Wal-Mart had to find a retail leader in India with a good reputation. Through their combined efforts, Wal-Mart and Bharti Enterprises were able to form a working business entity.

Your efforts to find the best JV partner with a high reputation for quality and service are vital. If your goal is to enter new markets and larger market segments, a JV with another reputable business can aid your efforts to succeed quickly and more efficiently.

Jostle Your Paradigm

Wal-Mart is known worldwide for its large retail stores with low prices on popular consumer products. However, that paradigm would not work in India due to strict government non-competing laws on foreign businesses. Therefore, a new wholesale business paradigm was designed to help Wal-Mart play into the non-retail sector of India’s business economy.

Your JV entity and structure may need to change the way it normally does business. If you’re a retailer, you may need to work wholesale only. If you provide consumer services, you may need to change to a business-to-business format for your JV to succeed. Stay open to business paradigm changes.

Beat Competition Through Stealth

Of course, India is familiar with the Wal-Mart name, and it has a large controversy as a foreign business trying to steal customers from local retailers. Thus, along with changing to wholesale business, they changed their name to BestPrice Modern Wholesale.

If you are looking to beat competition, you and your JV partner can work under a new business name and entity that can succeed at penetrating a higher market share. Of course, this requires market research and marketing strategies so make sure to carefully evaluate this decision.

Your next JV may be the right formula to thrust your business into new heights. With the right JV partner and strategies, you can find ways to make your business work in new areas that were previously impenetrable.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

How You Can Improve Your Well-Being with a Joint Venture

When was the last time you made a bad decision? Perhaps it was just this morning when you decided to skip breakfast. Your decision to skip the most important meal of the day was a personal one, which only affected you. However, what if your decision had an impact on your joint venture or your JV partner? If you didn’t fuel up properly and your body and mind did not function at its highest level, could you be on a path to making more bad decisions that affect the success of your JV? It’s possible. That’s why simply becoming a member of a JV can help you make better decisions and improve your well-being.

Responsibility of Human Cooperation

Psychological studies have shown that when individuals act only for themselves, they tend to make decisions based almost solely on emotion. A key factor in a successful JV is cooperation, which requires each partner to focus not only on his own needs and wants, but his partner’s as well. When someone else may be affected by a decision, we as humans tend to act more rationally, rather than seek to maximize our own benefits.

What this says is that your involvement with a JV can help you make better decisions when someone else’s well-being is also at stake. The power of cooperation is the leverage needed to get group members to contribute their highest efforts for the collective benefit of the group.

Improvement of Information Processing Capabilities

As mentioned, when you make decisions that may have an impact on others, you will tend to be more rational. We as humans are emotional creatures. And emotions can sometimes lead to irrational behavior, especially when it comes to competing with others for resources.

However, if you pool resources and share in a common goal with a joint venture partner, you will tend to take in more information and process the information more thoroughly on a non-competitive level. In essence, your shared culture develops a better processing system for mutual benefit.

Better Behavior Makes a Better Person

Cooperation for mutual advantage is evidenced in basic society. We have developed societal regulators who help make the laws that benefit society as a whole and have enforcers who make sure that no one benefits at another’s expense. This is the entire basis for the term “civilization”. We have become better people and improved society by not remaining barbaric or savage in nature.

The same goes for you as an individual. You can improve your personal emotional and cognitive maturity with the decisions you make for the benefit of your JV. Your financial situation can improve with the pooling of resources and cooperation you get with your JV partner. In addition, you will feel more compassion and enter a more rational psychological state when you know that your decisions are benefiting both you and someone else. So go ahead, have that bagel and make better decisions today.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

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