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Become
your kind of customers' top-of-mind choice - with the involvement
of the right partners .... discover how in these real life success
stories ...
* *More Ways to Have
Fun*
That's how Holiday Inn collaborated with the children's TV folks
to create Nickelodeon Family Suites, set to open this month,
offering a water park, arcade and other family-friendly
attractions.
* *No-Stain
Now - and Much More Visibility*
That's how T-shirt designer Tami Minatelli exhibited at nine
street fairs this summer without paying for her booth space. A
manufacturer of a new, unique, no-stain suntan lotion paid for
Tami's booth.
Why? Because
she wore their lotion and her T-shirts, with a sign above her
head, describing her original painting-on-cotton method and the
lotion's "do no harm" guarantee. Next to burn protection, that's
the biggest concern of people who use suntan lotions.
* Walkin'
Lightly and Lookin' Good*
That's why this summer people will have one more reason to buy
Adidas' trendy new walking shoe. It will sport striking-looking
and cushy Eagle F1 tire treads from the tire giant
Goodyear.
* Deepen
Customers' Loyalty - With Gifts From a Partner
That's how Oprah Winfrey and General Motors could *make dreams
come true* for audience members and reap millions of dollars of
free media coverage. Women were escorted out to the parking lot
where they saw rows of beribboned Pontiac 6Gs to drive away. What
a way to kick off the 19th season of The Oprah Winfrey Show and
be top-of-mind for TV watchers and car buyers.
* *Live
Comfortably*
When pillow-maker, Leo Hollander decided to drop private labeling
work in favor of launching his own brand, he recruited
complementary partners. On his "Live Comfortably" web site, he
provides articles by a feng shui expert, a chiropractor, and a
color specialist. Result? He boosted all partners' visibility and
credibility - in front of their mutual market of
customers.
* *Attract
More of Your Biggest Spenders*
That's how the new Acer laptops look ever more elegant now that
they are packed into a candy red casing, designed by Ferrari
3400, complete with the sports car's logo.
* *World's
Largest Pink Ribbon in Times Square*
That's how a cause and a company managed to attract two million
Web site visitors in one week - and gained access to each other's
constituencies. Goal? To build a gigantic Pink Ribbon monument in
Times Square made of 75,000 pink Post-it Super Sticky Notes,
highlighting Breast Cancer Awareness.
* *Make More
Money by Meeting Different Customers (with the Right Mates) in
Different Places*
That's how one of the most savvy partners is entering yet another
niche market. The ubiquitous coffee chain, Starbucks won't sell
the new Kahlua-like liqueur they co-branded with Jim Beam in its
cafes, but after successfully marketing coffee ice cream, the
brewing champ is joining the liquor giant in serving people in
bars. More recently, Starbucks is partnering with museums to put
Starbucks employees' art on exhibition.
The BIG
Benefit of SmartPartnering
In each of these real life success stories the partners generated
far more visibility, value, money and goodwill than they could
have accomplished in traditional "solo" promotions, fundraising
or advertising.
These are not
random events.
They reflect a
wildly popular and sometimes controversial outreach
method.
Partnering -
in all its forms - is perhaps the fastest-growing and most
efficient marketing method you can use.
Be careful.
Partnering is so powerful that it has both delighted and angered
would-be customers.
Be smart in
choosing your partners and methods and you, too, can become the
top-of-mind choice in your market.
* What other
businesses (or not-for-profits) are popular with your kind of
customer?
* What groups could add extra value to your kind of product or
service?
* How could a bundled offer of you and your partner's products
better respond to a customer's situational reason to buy. (Learn
how to identify the right partners and alliance method to boost
your profitability in the book, SmartPartnering)
Enjoy the
Bountiful Benefits of SmartPartnering ...
Act now to
grow your organization faster, and :
* Get introduced to prospective customers by people they
trust.
* Reach more hot prospects more frequently and credibly.
* Attract media stories that make you their top-of-mind
choice.
* Provide customers extra value without incurring extra
costs.
* Support causes in ways that attract more spending.
* Motivate more people to make compelling referrals.
* Keep your organization on the cutting edge.
* Stabilize your business during slow times.
* Inspire increased per-customer buying.
* Become more profitable without working more.
* Make friends as your success is their success, and vice
versa
* Partnering Enables You
to Stand Out in an Over-Advertised World
That's how
Applebee's attracted more customers - many first-time visitors -
to their family restaurants this summer, without advertising
more.
When Weight
Watchers designed and branded several low-cal menu items for
Applebee's, followers of their diet program (and those who were
thinking of losing weight) had a new reason to eat at Applebee's.
The restaurant's customers got introduced to a new program -
Weight Watchers, by a restaurant they already knew and
liked.
*
Fire-Fighting Pizza Provides a Win-Win Cause Campaign
That's how
firefighters in the town of Toluma to get a badly-needed but
expensive piece of equipment, a deluge gun, without asking their
cash-strapped city council for a single dime.
(Read closely.
Any local non-profit or government department could adapt this
method for fundraising)
Here's how.
Business was slow all over their town. The firefighters were
getting nowhere when they asked for donations from business
owners experiencing a weak economy.
Yet when they
approached the manager of a Pizza Hut, he said he didn't have the
authority to donate money, but he had a better idea. "Here's what
I can do. We can pick a Wednesday, say four weeks from today for
an "Our Community Cares" day here. I make $500 or so on
Wednesdays. On that day, after we sell $500 worth, every dollar
after that I'll split 50/50 with you. So if you inspire enough
people to buy a pizza on that day, you can raise more money than
you just asked me for."
The
firefighters loved the challenge. They prepared banners and asked
the local supermarket and gas stations to put up on their outside
walls. They had signs and announcements printed for free by the
local copy shop – with a bright red *donated by* credit
line to the copy shop on them.
The headline
on the signs and flyers read, Eat at Pizza Hut. Save a local
life. They visited offices complexes, even those with signs that
read "No soliciting." (Who's going to kick out the volunteer fire
department, right?) They went to apartment complexes, video
rental outlets, grade and high schools. They put flyers and signs
everywhere. Once people heard about their cause, handing out
flyers was like giving away candy. The local radio and newspaper
gave them free coverage talking and writing about their
inspirational community story.
When the
Wednesday’ comes around, the place was packed. They
made enough money to get the Deluge Gun. Most importantly
– it was a fair partnership because everyone
contributed, so participants are likely to want to work together
again.
The bottom
line:
When Partners Serve Their Mutual Market Better Together Everyone
Wins
In each true
success story you just read, organizations that serve the same
kind of consumers created new opportunities for and with each
other, and so could you.
They didn't
just forge partnerships, but *smart partnerships.* The secret to
success is finding the right partners and choosing the best
method, and then SmartPartnering.
As you can
tell, any kind or size of organization can use this tool to
generate more value, visibility - and money - together.
Perhaps that's
why partnering is the fastest growing and most controversial
marketing approach used today.
When
Partnering Backfires
Warning: with
the wrong partners or methods, your efforts can backfire You may
irritate or even alienate prospective customers and
supporters.
Two quick
examples:
1. New York
Mayor Bloomberg's attempt to override other public officials with
a unilateral deal to put Snapple - exclusively - in vending
machines in city offices and schools - backfired. He got a
barrage of bad publicity from angry local leaders.
2. American
Airlines partnered with companies to plaster their ads on the
plane's pull-down trays. Talk about in-your-face invasive
promotion. They've since dropped the idea in the wake of a
hailstorm of protest.
Pick Your
Partners with Care
One must pick
partners with great care. Notice how one*sweet* cause campaign
got lambasted while another attracted praise.
"Maybe Krispy
Kreme should offer free coupons for insulin and syringes to the
kids who end up with diabetes," said Gary Ruskin, executive
director of Commercial Alert.
Krispy Kreme
was criticized by this watchdog group for its longtime program of
rewarding students in kindergarten through sixth grade with a
free doughnut for every A on their report card in communities
across the country.
Yet there is
nary a peep of protest when M&M teamed up with the Susan G.
Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to raise funds through the sale
sweets - new "pink & white" M&M candies. In short, on
behalf of a cause to keep women healthy, groups are jumping on
the bandwagon to encourage people to buy a candy that is
certainly no more nutritious than a donut.
In light of
the alarming leap in obesity in the U.S. some long time partners
may attract controversy today, as Krispy Kreme is learning the
hard way.
The lesson?
Stay clear of controversy. Even if the Susan G. Komen Breast
Cancer Foundation isn't criticized this time for what could be
described as an unhealthy partner, it could be soon.
But recognize
that partnering is a fast-growing trend because of its power. You
can use it to stand out from your competition or provide a fresh
reason for people to support your cause or buy your product. You,
too, can become a bigger customer magnet.
The second
lesson for you? Don't waste any time. Start a SmartPartnership
soon.
Recruit your
"A Team" of most popular, credible partners before your
competitors do. Just choose partners that can stand up to public
scrutiny and a method that will delight rather than annoy your
kind of consumers.
Remember, the
bottom line benefit of this trend is that at the very least, with
a partner, you get introduced to each other's customers.
Read the
article in the Wall Street Journal's Startup Journal
http://www.startupjournal.com/howto/marketingsales/20050111-anderson.html
See why some
notable people rave about this book
*SmartPartnering:
How to Attract and Delight More Consumers While Spending
Less*
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Here are some low-risk and high-opportunity ways
to jumpstart your first consumer-attracting
SmartPartnership
1. Print joint
promotional messages on your bills.
2. Offer a reduced price, special service, or convenience if
customers buy services or products from you and your
partner.
3. Hang signs
or posters promoting one another on your walls, windows, or
products.
4. Mention one
another's benefits when you speak at local events or are
interviewed by the media.
5. Show the
joint use of your services and their benefit on the health of
patients
6. Pool
mailing lists and send out a joint promotional postcard.
7. Promote
your partners' products during their slow times, and ask them to
do the same for you.
8. Share
inexpensive ads in local shopping papers or a nonprofit event
program.
9. Give a
joint interview to local media.
10. Put one
another's promotional messages on Lucite stands on counters or
floor stands in waiting areas.
11. Encourage
your staff to mention how your partner's products can be used
with yours.
12. Give your
partner's product to your customers when they buy a large
quantity of your product, and ask your partner to do the
same.
13. Use door
hangers, posters, flyers, or postcards to promote special offers
for one another's products.
14. Co-produce
an in-store or other event, demonstration, celebrity appearance,
free service, or lecture.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
More Snapshots of
SmartPartnering Success Stories
1. Escalate
Service: From Heavenly Beds to Deluxe Showers
Holiday Inn
Express partnered with Kohler to roll out a SimplySmart shower
program, giving guests the opportunity to try Kohler's new
multi-function showerhead and in-room spa features.
2. Guess Where
Some (Men) See a Wizmark?
Imagine this
conversation-starting partnership to reach and entertain men who
frequent bars, sports arenas and restaurants.
Using Wizmark.
Otherwise called an "interactive urinal communicator," by its
inventor, an electrical engineer and former chiropractor. Here's
how it works. As men step up to the urinal they will activate,
with the slightest movement, a sensor that prompts red lights to
flash, crunchy guitar chords to sound and a commercial
announcement to appear. Yes women, the male response has been
positive.
This is not
the first time that public restrooms have been invaded by
promotional partnerships. At the National Basketball Association
finals in Detroit in 2004, liquid-activated urinal mats
proclaimed "Beat L.A." AllOver Media, partnered with bars and
restaurants to install 15-inch liquid-crystal-display screens
above urinals in Minneapolis and Indianapolis.
3. Chef's
Delicious Partnering
See how chefs
are attracting customers and community goodwill
http://chef2chef.net/news/foodservice/Editorial-chefs_Corner/About_Business_and_Community_Partnering.htm
4. *Co-Create
Over-the-Top Products to Attract Media and Buyers*
Decorated with 1,000 crystals (one for each of the 1,000 songs it
can store), some spectacularly expensive iPod minis are
attracting priceless publicity by "Crystallized with Swarovski"
as have some cell phones and pianos.
5. The Handy
Physical Inactivity Cost Calculator
Health is a
top-of-the-mind concern for people over 50. With spiraling costs,
employees share their concern. That's why a free, new tool was
instantly popular with both groups. The Physical Inactivity Cost
Calculator (http://www.activelivingleadership.org/costcalc.htm)
helps businesses and others calculate the financial costs of a
physically inactive employee base. The formula is based on the
cost of medical care, workers' compensation, and
lost-productivity data to compute financial costs related to
physical inactivity.
This popular
calculator was created by a SmartPartnership of 20 associations
and government agencies with the unwieldy name Active Living
Leadership and Fifty-Plus Lifelong Fitness. With obesity-related
health care costs estimated at more than $117 billion a year, the
partners hope that associations and businesses can help employees
become more active by offering benefits such as gym memberships
and incentives for walking and biking to work.
Tip:
Make your collective offer instantly available.
6. Offer the
Entrancing Extra, That the Competition Doesn't
Who knows how
many people chose to stay at the Ritz Carlton during one Fall,
rather than at another luxury hotel because of an added thrill,
complimentary use of a brand new Mercedes during their
stay?
7. Appeal to
Their Eye and Their Heart
Over 80 U.S.
campus newspapers wrote favorably about a hip new Dutch fashion
label called 50/50. After the years of controversy about
clothiers' use of sweatshops, it was the first time many of the
students had seen a favorable story about clothes
manufacturing.
50/50 designs
clothing from Salvation Army cast-offs. It shares profits with
The Salvation Army whose blankets, curtains and dungarees
eventually show up on racks as skirts, pants and belts, each
accompanied by a flyer with Salvation Army's and 50/50's message:
people need each other and nobody should be excluded from
society.
8. Customers
Are Grateful When You Make Their Lives Easier
Targeting
mothers with hectic schedules, Geoffrey, a mega-store invited
local businesses to join in creating an in-store community
center. Geoffrey sectioned off rooms that now provide a
children's hair salon, portrait studio, snack bar, computer
learning center and party room.
You, too, can
become a bigger customer magnet.
In each of
these examples, natural partners, serving the same market,
collaborated to adopt their unique variations of SmartPartnering
to become the obvious, favorite for their *mutual market* of
customers.
Bottom Line
benefit of this trend:
SmartPartnerships generate a profitable payoff for all partners
because, at the very least, they can get introduced to each
other's customers.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kare's the author of
SmartPartnering,
LikeABILITY, Beauty Inside Out, Resolving Conflict Sooner, Walk
Your Talk: Grow Your Business Faster Through Successful
Cross-Promotional Partnerships and Getting What You Want
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