As back to school approached, I took each of my girls shopping.  This is a ritual of ours.  We go on “Mommy Daughter Dates” and do something as just us two . . .my parents did that for me and it is so rewarding.  Anyway, this particular date was all about back to school shopping and one of our stops was Justice, the pre-teen clothing store.

As we finished checking out, I was given my receipt, Justice J Bucks to draw me back in at a later date for a discount AND a $10 coupon to Office Max.  How brilliant is that!  What a great partnership!  We were just thinking about the back to school list given to us by our school . . .pencils, pens, folders, paper, erasers . .  . . and now Office Max was on my radar.  I mean why not?  Oh by the way, Office Max was not on my radar before.

Guess where I bought my kids schools supplies?  OfficeMax.

This partnership idea is definitely not a new idea.  The concept of strategic partnership – finding a business partner with the same target market for a specific campaign – has been going on since the dawn of time.  But to see it at work and be able to relate to this small business marketing idea with a real life, successfully implemented example is priceless.

Start thinking about the types of strategic partnerships that might work in your business.  Start simple.  Here are some random small business marketing ideas I am making up:

Example #1: An organic vegetable co-op might partner with a specialty cheese shop or organic meat producer to offer a holiday special. 

Example #2:  A clothing retailer might give special coupons to a local salon to include with each paid service.  On the other side of that, a salon could offer a special for make-up and hair service for anyone purchasing a holiday outfit at a nearby clothing shop.

Example #3:  As a storefront and an online store, you could offer an additional discount coupon for all in store purchases when they purchase again online . . .these could boost your holiday sales and you could promote free shipping or gift wrapping as an extra incentive.

Think outside the box and think at least six months out . . .if not an entire year.  If you think you may need some help with your marketing plans, you can read more about what we offer to help with small business marketing strategies.

To Your Marketing! – Alison

Alison Elliott is a Marketing Expert and founder of Corner Your Market Global Marketing.  To get these tips along with tips on SEO for Small Business, Social Media Marketing for Small Business, Unique, Interesting and Great Marketing Ideas for Small Business ,  Help Creating Online Marketing Plans for Small Businesses, and Businesses and Software to help Market your Small Business online , you can sign up to our small business marketing e-guide here.