Whether you're a contractor a local merchant with 150 employees, whichever, however or whatever, you've got to know how to keep your business alive during rough economic times. Anytime the cash flow in a business, large or small, starts to tighten up, the money management of that business has to be run as a "tight ship."

This is where an Honest Joint Venture will help increase, not only business sales, but strong business relationships. When things go together, they're said to be complimentary. An example of two items that might go together are flowers and baskets. If you're in the market for one of these two items, you might be in the market for the other.

You may be able to increase your business marketing efforts by combining the marketing of one of your products or services with the marketing of someone else's products or services.

There are two Methods of marketing using Joint Ventures:

External joint venture marketing- You combine your marketing with that of another business that uses a product or service that compliments your own. You both benefit from the exposure and your customers will be looking to this other business for its complimentary offering. Likewise, the other business, and their customers will look to you for their complimentary products or services. You both access each other's customer database. An example would be a cabinet maker and a hardware store that could work together.

Internal joint venture marketing- You probably offer complimentary products within your own business. If this is the case, you need to market this so potential customers will be aware that your business offers certain products or services that compliments each other. This encourages one stop shopping and also allows your business to sell one product or service on the back of the other. An example is 'computer repair store' that also sells virus protection software.

I've actually seen one business that sells a course on how to write successful marketing campaigns. The majority of their customers never find out that in addition to selling that course, they do consulting and write marketing campaigns themselves. They don't do an effective job of letting their customer base know that Those things naturally go hand-in-hand.

Another kind of internal joint venture marketing would be a combined location or common business. You can have businesses that shares a common location such as a mall or a strip mall shopping center. They can market their businesses as complimentary to each other. This can take a number of forms, but the most popular is sharing the media cost. An example would be a strip mall with a number of home improvement products or services.

You want to take advantage of this either by phone or by sending the other business a letter. You might say, "Dear Mr. or Mrs. Business Owner. Our company specializes in (or sells). We have discovered a logical tie into your business or customer base in that it . We have created a system for dramatically increasing your profits without risk, investment or even effort on your part".

Where you say, 'Mr. or Mrs., let me ask if you could generate sufficient profits to - would that interest you?' The process is relatively simple. First, we create a joint marketing plan together to consist of either (choose 1 or 2 of the following) a letter of endorsement from you, a telemarketing campaign, a seminar, workshop, sales presentation, display or design a customer/client newsletter, or a display ad. We will share the profits on a 50/50 basis etc."

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