Thursday, June 25, 2009

Make your business more appealing by getting involved with other businesses

Why not give yourself another competitive edge by associating your small business with something that catches people’s interest? Establishing a relationship with another company or organization does a few different things for you and your business. First, it puts your company name in front of more potential customers. It can also help to establish your company’s credibility. Thirdly, and perhaps the most important reasons to associate with something interesting – is that it’s fun. You should be involved with a business that you have fun running, and shouldn’t be doing it if it isn’t fun.

Focus on having fun and the outcome (money) is more likely to be what you have hoped for. Subsequently, you can pick and choose the types of companies and organizations that you might want to be connected with. If you haven’t already developed unique relationships that separate you from your competitors, start brainstorming about who you might want to deal with immediately. Your first step might come with looking at some popular websites that generate a lot of traffic, and evaluate who they are associating themselves with.Some companies might partner with similar companies within the same industry. Another company may be committed to giving back to charitable organizations in their community. If you end up coming together with a charitable group, you might incent potential customers to invest in your business by donating a small percentage of their purchase toward that charity. People are very careful with their money, but are often times more willing to participate when they are standing behind a cause that gives back.

Be creative though, think about ways that your company might be able to help a company in a totally different industry. Perhaps you are a construction company that is capable of building a set for a movie. Why not find a company in the movie industry that has filming locations available, and see if you can put their logo on your website? Most companies would be happy to have the additional exposure – they might even do the same for you – and of course you might end up finding some additional jobs.If there are well respected unions or organizations that you can join, it’s another way to raise your credibility. If you become part of a particular group they might let you place their logo on your site. This will indicate to customers and potential buyers that you are an industry player and have associates in the industry.Remember to have fun, and the possibilities are limitless. In fact, there are probably hundreds of different companies and groups that will allow room for some sort of partnership. It’s just a matter of you putting in the time to think about how you can help others, while they help you.


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