5 Benefits of Local Partnerships for Small Businesses
With only 50% of small businesses passing the 5-year mark successfully, it is important to constantly up your marketing strategies. One of the most effective ways to do that is through local partnerships. From sharing resources to increased exposure to a wider customer base, local partnerships can be the secret weapon your business needs to succeed and grow.
In this article, we’ll discuss some ways a local partnership can greatly benefit your business.
Benefits of Business Local Partnerships
Increased Exposure
Building a loyal customer base in the present competitive market is especially hard for small businesses. By partnering up with another local business, you could market each other’s brands to your respective customer bases through various methods of cross-promotion.
For example, you could offer discount coupons with each purchase and design bundle deals. You can also collaborate on an event like a book store holding a book hour at its partner cafe.
Builds a Sense of Community
Building local partnerships is a community-centric approach that promotes a sense of belonging. You network together, define common goals, and share tips on how to further grow your businesses. This healthy local environment is not only great for fostering your business but also builds a positive brand image for you among the residents.
People tend to appreciate businesses working to contribute to the local economy and prefer purchasing from them as a way of contributing to a good cause.
Increased Credibility
One of the major benefits of partnerships in business is increased credibility. When customers trust a business, they’ll most likely trust its partner businesses as well. In fact, 68% of consumers make decisions to buy products and services after viewing a brand’s partnership campaigns.
Another good way to build trust among customers is to have your partner business recommend your products to their customers and do the same for them as well.
Shared Resources
It’s common knowledge that small businesses often struggle financially to keep things going, especially when they haven’t built a big enough customer base. Well, one of the most useful benefits of partnerships in business is cost-effectiveness. Collaborating with a business means that you can use their resources, and they can use yours.
These resources also include skills and expertise. For example, if your partner business is great at marketing, it could give you some tips to make your strategies more effective as well.
Joint Problem Solving
Local partnerships foster a network where businesses can help each other to face different challenges. For example, the market is ever-changing, with new trends replacing old ones in just a few days. To protect your business from loss, taking prompt actions to adapt your business accordingly is vital.
While this may be difficult for a small business to do all by itself, partner businesses can divide the burden and take prompt actions.
How to Partner with Local Businesses
Here are some tips on how to form local partnerships:
- Identify small businesses that you can partner with. For example, if you own a coffee shop, you can partner with a bookstore or a bakery.
- Reach out to the business and pitch them your partnership proposal, highlighting how you can bring value to each other.
- Once the partnership is finalized, work on partnership campaigns and other collaborative activities that can help both businesses grow. Discuss feedback and make any changes in your strategies accordingly and together.
- Market your business partnership through social media, special discounts, or other techniques.
- Once both businesses have got the hang of the partnership, consider more local businesses you can partner with for expansion.
Conclusion
Local partnership businesses are way more likely to succeed than individual small businesses. With local partnerships, your brand can save money on resources, enjoy increased exposure to more customers, and build trust among consumers. In addition, you’re supported by a strong local community that will help you solve problems and share their skills and expertise when you need them. So, waste no more time and start identifying potential local business partnerships that can give your business the boost it needs.
