1Partner picAre you looking for a way to expand your business, multiply your income, grow your community, make strong partner relationships, and gain new friends and enjoy doing it all?

It’s all possible with joint venture (JV) partnerships.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, joint venture partnership, here’s a simple definition: when 2 or more organizations combine forces to carry out a particular project, cross promotion, expand each other’s communities and brand awareness, to generally bring in more revenue.

Typically both organizations are equally vested in the JV partnership as far as money, time and effort. And thus the onus is on both parties to ensure its success. Because of the fact that starting a business can be costly, many small business owners seek JV’s to cover initial start-up costs. Although small business owners utilize JV partnerships mostly for expansion so do major corporations.   However, the primary reason major corporations utilize JV’s is because of diversification. Perhaps Bill Gates said it best: “Our success has really been based on partnerships from the very beginning.”

A  Joint Venture partnership may be on-line or off-line. It can also be utilized in social media as well as traditional advertising mediums.

Why consider Joint Venture partners?

There are many benefits to using JV partnerships.  One of the main reasons to consider joint ventures is because you must increase your influence within your community if you want your business to grow. You need to elevate your area of influence and increase your visibility in order to grow your business. One of the quickest and easiest ways to achieve business growth is with joint venture partnerships.

Who are Joint Venture partnerships good for and when?

The easiest way to answer that question is anyone who is looking to grow their business. Whether you are in start-up mode or an established business, joint venture partnerships could prove beneficial for you.  Major corporations do JV’s to launch new products or services all the time and cross promote each other’s services to benefit the consumer.  For example if you have a credit card that gives rewards points for hotel stays or airlines, that is an example of a joint venture. Each company is cross promoting the special offer to their respective audience. In this scenario, two major companies came together to cross promote a special offer to their respective audiences to increase sales. The best part is that the consumer reaps the benefit by getting additional perks for making a purchase.  It’s a win-win situation for everyone.

As a small business owner, can you see how JV’s can benefit you? The possibilities are endless. This leads me to my next point about what types of JV’s work best. It’s really no full proof formula to use that will guarantee that you have a successful partnership. However, there are few things you must remember about potential partners.magnifyglass

  1. Screen them.  Make sure that you have accurately assessed your partner ahead of time.
  2. Look for similarity. Be sure that you share similarity in the target market you both want to reach.
  3. Check their customer service policies and track record.

 

What types of Joint Venture partnerships should you consider?

Product Launch. If you have a new product or service you want to introduce to your target audience, you can partner with a company that compliments your new product or program.  Let’s say you’re a fitness trainer and you know an apparel designer. You could introduce a new fitness program and offer your clients a new fitness outfit for X percentage off just for signing up with you.

Referral Partner. The name says it all. What’s better than having someone give you a warm lead? How about you’re a financial planner and you team up with a tax accountant in your area. You trust one another and respect the other’s work, so you easily refer clients to one another. It makes perfect sense because you both share similar ideal client profiles.

Guest Blogger. You offer to write an article on someone else’s blog. In exchange they promote you to their network and vice verse. It’s a perfect match because you provide new content and fresh insight to their blog and their readers get the experience of learning from someone new. You both grow your email lists in the process.

Guest Host.  For entrepreneurs, this is a popular strategy either on-line or in-person. If one entrepreneur is hosting a webinar or tele-summit, you could invite another entrepreneur to give a talk or interview them about a specific topic. The host partner sets up the event either virtually or in person and both parties promote it to their audiences.

Joint Event.  You join forces with another entrepreneur to host a workshop or business event. You both get similar audiences, cross promote each other on your websites and social media, and you both get targeted exposure and more clients.

As you can see, there are many ways that joint venture partners can benefit both small business, big business and everyone in between. Have you started to think about ways you can utilize joint ventures in your business.  I’ve only touched on a few options on this post. But I’d love to hear from you. What JV partnerships have you tried that were wildly successful that you’d like to share?

 

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This article is written by Lori A. Manns. Want to use this article for your website, blog or newsletter? No problem. Here’s what you must include: Lori A. Manns, CEO of Quality Media Consultant Group your marketing and sales success mentor, and founder of Marketing For Trailblazers TM & ABC’s of Successful Sponsorship Sales System;TM  that shows you how to get more sponsors and sales for your business, guaranteed. To purchase consulting  services on marketing, advertising or sales and, learn how to increase your revenue and grow your business; please visit www.qualitymediaconsultants.com.