Strategic Business Partnerships Grow Small Businesses

Developing strategic business partnerships should be part of every small business owner’s growth plan for the company. A strategic business partnership has several benefits for the companies involved including: access to existing customers, quick penetration into new markets, enhanced branding, and others that may not be so apparent such as cost reduction benefits from utilizing a partners employee base or getting price breaks from suppliers due to an increase in orders to fulfill new demand. The best business executives and small business owners understand that it is very difficult to execute growth plans alone and aligning with other companies that have mutual interests and a shared target demographic is the right solution. Building a successful business partnership has its difficulties and limitations as well, but the time spent in researching, negotiating, and finally implementing a new strategic business partnership can result in a tremendous return of investment that would rival any internal efforts in the same amount of time.

Find New Customers in Target Markets

The cost of acquiring a new customer is never cheap. However; by aligning with the right partners that can deliver clients a small business can then focus on providing a high level of customer service and getting the most out of what strategic business relationships provide. After a company’s executives have decided that forming business partnerships is the right path for the business, it’s important to research and identify a strategic business partner that can either lead you to many future business partners or has a large existing customer base in the area you intend to service. Just because a company has a large number of customers and they’re in a similar industry does not always mean they will be the right choice. The potential new customers need to be in a geographic location that you can easily service unless the partner is willing to take on additional roles and responsibilities, which could range from sales calls to product delivery to customer service.

Strengthen Brand and Marketing Capabilities

The right strategic business partner should elevate the business’s brand and reputation in the industry that it services. When researching and identifying a partner make sure to take note of how the other company is viewed by its customers, competitors, and the market in general as any positive or negatives will rub off on your brand due to the execution of a business partnership.  This can be the quickest way for a small business to achieve name recognition within its industry, by developing a relationship with a large business that already commands respect and is known for delivery high quality products and services with excellent customer care. It is critical during negotiations to fight for co-branding, which may be difficult depending on the nature of the business relationship. If a major concern is being overshadowed by a partner in marketing due to their size and resources than it’s important to make those concerns known prior to moving forward. However, for many small business owners the right strategic partner may be simply white labeling the product or service and not co-branding at all in order to provide a seamless experience for their customers. If the revenue numbers are going to be high enough does it really matter, whether or not the end customer knows the brand?

Growing a business is never easy, but with great partners it can be much more rewarding experience. A small business owner that embraces the ideas of forming strategic business partnerships that are mutually beneficial is much more likely to succeed than the one that wants to go it alone or do it their own way every time.

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.

Discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free report on Joint Venture Marketing.

The Advantages of a Joint Venture for Small Businesses

There are many advantages of a joint venture for small businesses to take advantage of. Most importantly is establishing solid relationships with companies that can provide value to your existing customers which should already be a top priority for any small business owner. It is very difficult as a small business to have the ability to completely service your entire customer’s needs, but if you put in place the right joint venture partners you will be fully capable to service them and at the same time drive additional revenue to your bottom line. Having strong joint venture marketing alliances can increase the reach your brand has while maintaining a lean and limited marketing budget.

Meet New Potential Clients

Small business owners are often faced with having too many things to do during each day of the week and finding the right balance of spending time on generating new business leads and maintaining an existing customer base can be difficult. One of the greatest advantages of a joint venture marketing relationship can provide to a small business is the ability to quickly reach new potential customers. By focusing on developing relationships with companies that already have existing customers and the channels to quickly expose new products and services to them a business owner can focus on having high quality relationships that assist in driving new business. This allows a business owner to continue to manage the day to day operations of the business and service existing customers while a joint venture marketing partner is helping to drive in new qualified leads that are much easier to justify devoting time too rather than cold calling for customers or pursuing other strategies for finding new leads. Small business owners often waste lots of resources on sales teams and sales consultants that underperform and these people also often require significant management time. A great joint venture marketing relationship can out produce even a good sales team if you structure the relationship correctly and manage the relationship properly.

Expand Existing Product / Services Offering

Another significant advantage of a joint venture is expanding the products and services that are available for your existing clients. Most small businesses are excellent at servicing a very specific niche, thus it is difficult for most to be experts in similar services or carry the depth of product lines to fully satisfy all the needs of their customer base. The right joint venture partners that can support your clients with those additional services and products ensures that you will not loose those customers to potential competitors that may be able to service them with a wider range of products and services as well as ensure that you are maximizing every chance to earn revenue from your customer base. Everyone understands that it’s a significant expense to gain a paying customer and so it is important as a small business to encourage your customers to take advantage of joint venture opportunities you can provide not only to share with them a great opportunity, but to most importantly return the favor to those companies that are also sending you business and earn additional revenue in the process.

Co-Marketing Campaigns

Marketing campaigns can be very costly and if they do not immediately provide a solid return on the investment can be detrimental to the success of a small business especially those at the earliest stages. Take advantage of your joint venture marketing partners when they offer to do co-branded promotions. These types of activities reduce the costs for both companies and when done properly will appear as a genuine match that has been developed to ensure customer satisfaction. Many larger companies will offer co-marketing opportunities to small businesses that are providing a serious advantage to their product / services line up or have such a compelling story that the larger company sees significant value in associating their brand with the other business. This is an excellent way to get free branding and marketing as larger firms often already have set in place several core marketing strategies that they will execute for new joint ventures to increase the likely hood for success. As a small business, while doing a joint venture marketing relationship with a bigger company, it is acceptable to ask for marketing support as many companies have in house graphic design teams and others that can help quickly mock up any marketing collateral required. This also ensures that the larger company is approving the way that there company is being represented. It’s never good to spend significant resources as a small business to develop marketing collateral, only to have it redone because the larger partner does not approve of the materials that were created.

Take advantage of joint venture marketing relationships as a small business to increase visibility in the market, establish additional revenue streams with existing customers, and gain access to resources that will help drive business and ensure joint venture activities succeed.

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 report on Joint Venture Marketing.

Effectively Negotiating a Joint Venture Marketing Agreement

After you’ve decided to enter into a joint venture and found a potential partner, the next step is the negotiation. “Give and take” is important to understand in the negotiation process; without it a successful agreement cannot be made. The power of a joint venture is only as strong as the negotiation behind it.

Tips for Effective Negotiations

Face-to-face interaction and tactics are key factors in a successful negotiation. Equally important is the proper layout and preparation of goals, benefits and risks of the venture. Keep in mind that in any successful negotiation, both parties walk away feeling they will benefit from the arrangement.

Perform extensive research on the type of business you’re preparing to negotiate with. If possible find out what problems they have and what their profit margins and resources are. Use the Internet as a research tool, read industry publications and talk to the company’s customers or employees. This research will help you be more effective in the negotiation process.

Learning everything you can about your potential partner is important, but being prepared to offer important information about your business is also important. Outlining the benefits of entering into a venture with your company for your potential partner as well as discussing what you hope to gain from the venture is a good strategy for negotiations.

Speaking of “give and take,” you should go into the negotiation process prepared to compromise. You should have the best- and worst-case scenarios along with the benefits of each case. As you begin the process, start off with the best outcome you hope for first. As the negotiation process matures, prepare to compromise, but do not lower your standards.

By leveraging existing resources instead of creating new ones, this will help both parties keep costs down as much as possible. If the venture does not work out as planned, both partners will not lose if they use their combined resources. Also pooling your resources can be an effective way to deal with each other’s shortcomings; what one company lacks the other company excels in.

Some other helpful tips are honesty and transparency between partners. Starting your venture on the right foot will ensure the longevity of the partnership. Regular contact with your partner is essential in making sure your current arrangement is going as planned and making adjustments as needed. Effective ventures are essential in business growth, profit increase and growing the customer base.

Put it in Writing

All successful negotiations end in writing a contract. The contract needs to include the overall goal for the joint venture, a timeline for the venture and the benefits each partner hopes to gain from the agreement. If a timeline is not solid, put a date down to revisit the JV partnership. Also include all fallback options. In the event the partnership does not work, both parties can make a clean break. A well-prepared contract is paramount. Each party should think about hiring a legal representative to help protect you and your potential partner’s interests.

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 report on Joint Venture Marketing.

The Structure of a Joint Venture Team

Some joint ventures are relatively simple, with two companies coming together in a rather informal manner to pump up their marketing and build a customer base. Other joint ventures are significantly more complex, with more businesses involved in a partnership that becomes a separate entity in its own right.

If you are heading for the latter model of a joint venture, it is important to understand the structure of these joint venture groups to achieve the greatest odds of success. We’ll show you how to structure a joint venture group so everyone benefits from the partnership.

Purpose of the Joint Venture

When more businesses are becoming involved in a joint venture, the ultimate purpose of the arrangement becomes that much more significant. In these group situations, marketing is rarely the primary goal of the joint venture. These entities might be formed for the purpose of production expansion, research and development or risk-sharing for an investment strategy. It is important that everyone onboard the joint venture understands the ultimate goal of the arrangement before signing on the dotted line.

Putting the Legal Ducks in a Row

The purpose of the joint venture will determine in part what type of legal documentation is required to make the joint venture official. When you know the goal of the joint venture, select a lawyer who specializes in those types of arrangements to draw up your contract for you. This ensures all the legal loopholes are covered in the initial agreement, and that everyone’s rights and property are equally protected.

Lawyers will help you navigate the complex road of tax reporting, profit sharing and patent protection. If the joint venture will involve companies from different countries, a lawyer will be able to advise all the parties on the various trade and labor laws of the countries included.

Establishing a Hierarchy

Joint ventures of this size usually need their own governance structure to oversee the partnership. First, a governing body that consists of representatives from each aspect of the joint venture should be created. This body will protect the interests of all involved businesses, since every company will have at least one member to represent them.

There also needs to be an operational management team that will report to the governing body and oversee the daily workings of the joint venture. Finally, a financial team should be put in place to handle the accounting and tax reporting specific to the joint venture.

What about Disputes?

The more partners there are in a joint venture, the more likely the occasional dispute will arise. Every joint venture should have a dispute resolution in process before the first conflict comes up. This process may be incorporated into the joint venture contract or established as a policy for the governing body of the partnership.

Joint ventures can be as simple or complex as you want to make them, but more sophisticated joint venture models require more research and time to construct properly. By weighing all of these factors with equal care, all of the members of the joint venture can rest assured the joint venture they create will equally protect and benefit every member of the 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 report on Joint Venture Marketing.