Before entering into a joint venture marketing agreement, consider the following five steps as a strategic guide for coming up with a plan and agreement that will work for you.

Step 1: Research potential partners.
Make sure that you do a little research on those you think you might want to reach out to as potential joint venture marketing partners. For example, if you sell printers, you might want to consider partners in the ink industry or maybe even paper distributors. Whatever the case may be, narrow down what it is you are looking for before you decide on who it is you want to work with. Once you have your choices narrowed down, then do some research on who is the best in their industry. If you’ve decided to go with a paper distributor, find out who has the highest sales and the best reviews. After all, you’ll want to know the best if you want to be the best.

Step 2: Open the lines of communication.
Now that you’ve decided who you would like to work with, you’ll have to take the first step in building the relationship. Open the lines of communication by sending an initial email and follow it up with a telephone call to make it more personal. You’ll want to introduce yourself, explain what you do and why you are contacting this person. Gaining that initial contact can be the most difficult part, but it is only half the battle. Convincing your potential partner just how lucrative a joint venture marketing opportunity can be will be your next challenge.

Step 3: Define your goals
If all goes well, you will have used your business savvy and marketing expertise to turn your once potential partner into a teammate. Now it is time to get down to business and begin thinking about the goals of this relationship and how you will reach those goals. Hammer out all of these details now so that you can focus on the success of your campaign without getting tangled in the details later on. Be sure to define your goals, set your strategy and most importantly, get on the same page.

Step 4: Know your role
Discuss what you expect out of this relationship, both personally and professionally. You will want to be perfectly clear as to what is expected of each of you. Decide from the beginning what your roles will be. Will you share all responsibilities? How much is to be expected from each of you? Also, make a list of dos and don’ts, outlining what will and will not be acceptable as part of the agreement. Again, you will need to be on the same page with your joint venture marketing partners and work as a team in order to be successful.

Step 5: Stick to the plan
Once you have discussed what your goals are, what your strategy will be and how you plan to execute the best possible joint venture marketing plan, it is critical that you stick to the agreement. In other words, be true to your word and expect the same of your partner.

A well organized, well thought out joint venture marketing agreement will produce results every single time.

Learn more about successful joint venture marketing by grabbing a copy of my complimentary report: “Joint Venture Partnerships – Learn How To Build Successful, Long-Term JV Partnerships!”

How do you not only make your customers happy, but keep them coming back for more? Well, for one, deliver on your promises. That’s always a good start. Two, make sure your prices are competitive and your product is of the highest quality. And three, refer them to other great businesses, especially those that compliment your own.

Why would you help another business by referring your customers to them? To build customer trust, loyalty and overall satisfaction, that’s why. And joint venture marketing allows you to do just that. By entering into a joint venture marketing agreement, you and your joint venture partner have the ability to not only cross-advertise, but more than double your business and build your lists while you’re at it. It sounds too good to be true, but it isn’t! What it really comes down to is building relationships, which is at the heart of every joint venture marketing partnership and simultaneously, the result of every effective, well executed one.

By building a strong relationship with your joint venture marketing partner, you are establishing trust amongst peers. Gaining the respect of other business owners is critical if you want to survive as a successful business owner yourself. In turn, those who respect and trust you will also want to be connected to you, will recommend you, and hopefully will want to do business with you. And if they want to do business with you, odds are, so will their customers. It’s kind of like an investment and the return is more customers.

Once you have entered into a joint venture marketing relationship, you can work together with your joint venture marketing partner to not only increase the satisfaction of your current and existing customers, but also work toward building each other’s business by sharing your lists and recommending each other’s products and/or services. You may even want to consider offering a joint special for “customers of business X only”. In other words, your partner’s customers receive a discount when they purchase your product or service, and vice versa. This is not only a great incentive, but a tried and true tactic for successful joint venture marketing.

Once your customers see firsthand just how wonderful your recommendation is, their trust in you will instantly rise and your credibility will be further established, making it easier to keep these customers coming back. And that is another plus to joint venture marketing. The happier your customers are with you and the more satisfied they are with your recommendations, the more likely they are to give you repeat business. A happy customer is a return customer and customer satisfaction is the key to customer retention.

Again, joint venture marketing is all about building relationships and establishing trust. Once you gain the respect of your peers you can then commit to a joint venture with someone you believe and who believes in you. If you can do that, you will increase customer satisfaction and your business can and will be a success.

Learn more about successful joint venture marketing by grabbing a copy of my complimentary report: “Joint Venture Partnerships – Learn How To Build Successful, Long-Term JV Partnerships!”

While joint venture marketing can be a lucrative business move for most any business owner, there are some crucial “dos” and “don’ts” to keep in mind.  Here are some helpful tips to consider before you set out on your joint venture marketing adventure!

Do team up with someone whose business compliments yours.
You will want to make sure your joint venture will be complimentary for everyone involved. For example, if you were a painter, you wouldn’t team up with a chef to cross advertise your services. You would be much better suited teaming up with a carpenter or paint brush salesman.  The same logic applies to online marketers.  Team up with others whose work is complimentary to yours.  This is the best way to make the most out of your joint venture by cross-advertising, combining your lists and offering joint services and/or offerings.

Do partner with someone you trust.
Not every joint venture marketing team is made up of friends. In fact, it’s not usually a good idea to mix business with pleasure. However, it is extremely important to make sure you are martnering with those you can trust. You must be able to trust your joint venture marketing partners as responsible business people with proven track records.  Do they have a strong customer base and a committed clientele? Is their product or service something you believe in? These are critical questions to ask yourself before attaching your name, your business, and your reputation to a joint venture marketing opportunity.

Don’t take on more than you can handle.
Multiple joint venture opportunities may present themselves and may all seem to have equally enticing potential. However, you must be careful not to get mixed up in multiple joint venture marketing agreements. You must remember what is most important, and that is growing your business. If you begin to get involved in too many joint venture opportunities, you will take the chance of losing focus. In addition, you will need to ensure your brand is being managed carefully and properly by all parties involved. Joint venture marketing is very much a give and take relationship and it must be mutually respected. Be sure to give your joint venture marketing relationships the attention they need and deserve by focusing on one at a time.

Don’t assume you share the same goals.
Before you start laying out your advertisements and sharing the holy grail of your businesses, (your lists of course!) make sure you have a meeting of the minds where all of your joint venture marketing partners are involved. You will want to lay out your goals, both separately and collectively, and reach an agreement that best suits your upcoming venture. In addition, a contract is not only recommended but necessary to ensure all parties keep up their end of the deal as well as have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. It’s always a good idea to know and understand the goal and how it can best be reached.

Learn more about successful joint venture marketing by grabbing a copy of my complimentary report: “Joint Venture Partnerships – Learn How To Build Successful, Long-Term JV Partnerships!”