More and more small businesses are realizing that survival is a team sport. Small businesses have a unique opportunity to share customers in an increasingly competitive market. Here are 5 steps to make their customers your customers and increase sales for everyone.
1. Find a complimentary business.
Two florists will have a hard time sharing customers. One will win and one will lose. However, a florist and a coffee shop or a toy store and a children’s clothing store could easily share the same customers without sharing the same dollars. To promote your business alongside another business, find one with a similar target market. If their customers look like your customers they will likely buy like your customers.
2. Make an offer.
Once you’ve identified a business that makes a good partner, ask if you can give their customers something. Create a giveaway and place a registration box in the other business. As their customers finish shopping, they’ll register for your free gift–giving you their contact information. Now you have a mail and even e-mail list for free that many businesses would pay hundreds of dollars to capture (also a good idea to extend this to the other business, too).
3. Combine mail-outs.
Create a mail piece and split the cost between your business and another business. Maybe a postcard includes photos from each business and two coupons–one for each business. A newsletter to her customers could include a special discount offer from your business. Now in addition to reaching twice the audience, you can split the cost of printing and mailing your piece with another business.
4. Create a combination display.
Perhaps your flower shop could loan the coffee shop new decor for every season or place a few fresh flowers at the register each week. And the coffee shop can offer some fresh brew and pastries at your store. With carefully placed logos, you can get some free advertising just by swapping products in a place your target market will be sure to see them.
5. Link your site.
Offer links to other small businesses from your website. If you create enough of a database of small businesses in your community, your site could become the go-to place when a customer is searching for a specific business. While their main focus may not be your business, you’ll generate traffic to your website and capture some attention as customers click through.
Small businesses offer the world alternatives to big box stores and major corporations. Take advantage of the opportunities and help other businesses in the process.
Editor’s Note: Hilary Hamblin organized and ran the Chamber of Commerce in a small town for five years. During those years, she worked with small businesses to create winning marketing and advertising campaigns and is now with Momentum Consulting.
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Great ideas! I’m anxious to pass them on to a group I’m working with in rural Northern California.
To extend your thinking, collaboration among traditional competitors is possible and even beneficial to a whole area working to build a strong emotional connection to visitors. In our area, the three major businesses providing wedding locations refer customers they cannot serve back and forth to keep these people within the region for their wedding. If one doesn’t have the capacity, or food options or look, the other surely does. It has been a huge success for all.
Great points. A lot of small businesses don’t realize the power of teaming up with other small businesses to build a little network of a mini empire.
Good suggestions for small businesses, especially tip number 5. Linking can build more traffic to your site and possibly bring more business.