The Power of Collaboration

#1 Lets Think Database First

If you do not have a database of existing customers, then you are at a big disadvantage. Almost every great marketer focuses on database marketing. You are nothing without your customer list.

What is database marketing?

It is nothing but storing contact information of your customers in a database.

If you want to use sophisticated software like salesforce.com or even Microsoft Outlook, you are welcome to do so. If you have never collected information about your customers then moving to salesforce.com or even Microsoft Outlook might be a big leap forward. So, I suggest you make a start with an excel spreadsheet with name, email and phone number of your customers.

The biggest mistake some businesses make is to collect too much information and this can not only turn off your customers but it can also become overwhelming for the businesses to process the information.

#2 Co-Marketing Anyone?

This is a strategy that most businesses very seldom use. Co-Marketing is finding other businesses who serve the same target market as you do and devise marketing programs that will benefit all of you.

The idea behind this is to share each other’s customers. If you are a Hair Salon for example, find neighboring stores like book stores, DVD stores, super markets and create a coupon book of some sort where customers from each other’s stores get a discount by shopping with their co-partners.

There are several other co-marketing strategies you can use like having a special promotion in each other’s business premises or mailing each other’s mailing lists. It’s called a list swap by many marketers.

If there’s just one thing you are going to do after reading this article is to take a walk in your neighborhood and meet other business owners or managers, get to know them and set-up a lunch meeting where all of you can meet and brainstorm ideas to co-promote. Even if it is a group of 3, it can still be very powerful. Just imagine each of you having a list of 1000 customers each, all of a sudden together you have 3000 customers to promote to. Talk about the power of working together and collaborating.

This is a powerful strategy most businesses miss out on. They are constantly trying to do it all alone and this often leads to their downfall.

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