The Secret to Bring in New, Ideal Customers Without Spending a Penny

Marketing is EXPENSIVE right? Traditional advertising, SEO, SEM, retargeting, buying lists, and social media ad campaigns can be a pricey method to gain new customers. But here’s another secret we utilize regularly, partnerships. Before you look at traditional marketing methods, tune in to our tips on cost-effective tools to grow your brand.

There are only two steps to start finding your perfect partnership match, analyze your business and what you can offer, then start looking for companies that match your needs and your goals.

1. First, what can YOU offer someone? What do you bring to the table? Make sure to compile the following information to know where to start.
   1. Social following
   2. Website hits
   3. Subscribers on email
   4. Text
   5. App downloads
   6. Listeners (podcast)
   7. Where are you advertising
   8. Demographics of your audience - age, where they live, beliefs, income, etc - the more info the better.
2. Now you're ready to start the search for a good partner opportunity. Use these suggestions to find the best partnership for you.
   1. Who reaches your people?
      1. If you are a business that is focused on women, who else reaches women?
   2. What other services does your target demographic use?
      1. This is a good place to start looking for connections that are mutually beneficial.
   3. Where does your target demographic shop?
      1. More potential partnerships lie where your target demographic is already looking!
3. What is complimentary to your business? - Needs to be somewhat in the same realm
4. Type of business - are you able to serve people virtually? If you’re a locally owned business you probably need someone local too!
5. Look at businesses that are similar in size to your company to save yourself time. Don’t waste your time and resources pursuing a partnership that isn’t equal.
6. Nonprofit support - Think about nonprofits that you can support in exchange for promotion for your business.