BUSINESS SENSE BY CAMERON STUART, DRUG TESTING BUSINESS SUCCESS
Using Marketing Partnerships to Grow Your Drug Testing Business
P
artnerships and alliances are structures used by many of the largest and most successful companies in the world. Tose who pay atention to marketing will oſten see the clever,
oſten subtle, ways in which these giants put together campaigns, promotions and ongoing strategies. For our purposes, let’s consider that partnerships may be
described as follows: When two or more non-competing businesses with a common target market partner together to access new potential customers. Tese new customers may originate fom each partner’s existing customers or current leads, or be brand new to each/all of the partners.
Te benefits of a partnership do not end with just the new leads.
Rather, there are a variety of partnership structures: A Marketing Partnership—is like dating A Strategic Alliance Partnership—is like an engagement A Joint Venture Partnership—is like marriage
I don’t know about you but when starting out with partnerships, I
knew which type of structure appealed to me the most—Marketing Partnerships. So, if you are ready to tap into a steady supply of new leads for your business and think that forming a partnership with another business is the answer—a great place to start is with Marketing Partnerships.
Marketing Partnerships My favorite defining characteristic of a Marketing Partnership is that it can be very easy to set up. Additionally, Marketing Partnerships: • are simply structured; • are low cost, oſten no cost (apart from your time); • require only simple contracts, sometimes no contract; • are low risk, from the perspective of all three points above; • are agile, flexible and can easily lead to great innovation; • can lead to new opportunities not previously atainable, especially due to their co-operative nature;
• lead you to build a powerful new business network by default; and • are ideal for short, concentrated or “one off” campaigns. Marketing Partnerships are much more strategic than lead
generation or “referral marketing.” By selecting and partnering with the right businesses, you can achieve more for your customers— and your business. For the customer, Marketing Partnerships deliver extra
value, extra services, beter savings, innovation, and valuable information. For your business, they bring on new leads, a
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competitive advantage, more profits, lock competitors out, and maybe even add an extra revenue stream outside of your core business. If this is starting to get interesting, read on! Look carefully around your market place. Take notice of
examples of larger businesses partnering with smaller businesses. Tings can become very exciting when you realize that your “small” business may have something to offer a much larger business. Te right offer can quickly equalize the relationship. If you consider yourself a large business owner, partnering with the right small business can also produce great results. Te possibilities are seemingly endless.
Getting Started We have briefly described Marketing Partnership concepts and highlighted what might be achievable, but what are some practical steps forward? A first step is to consider which non-competing businesses may
be suitable to approach for a Marketing Partnership discussion. In drug testing, there are some obvious potential partners— businesses involved in safety, human resources, and health/ wellness assessments, to name a few. If your business offers other services outside of drug testing,
your partner potential will expand even further. With some focus and brainstorming, you can identify specific types of businesses to consider. For starters, always consider your current network (i.e., who are you already acquainted with that may share your target market?)
What Can You Offer? Te above question becomes easier to answer once you break down your own business to see where your strengths lie—otherwise known as “assets.” Key questions are: • What does your business have to offer a potential partner? • What do you or your team bring to the table, which may be atractive to a potential partner? Once your assets are identified, it pays to consider the flipside
and identify any weaknesses, such as: • Are you ready for a Marketing Partnership? • What areas do you need to improve? • Can you fill a weakness with a Marketing Partnership or some other form of alliance?
summer 2017
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