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Written by: Austin McNair
If there is one constant in professional services marketing it is that everything can change.
Algorithms shift, platforms change their features, and your buyers change their preferences. This is why the sharpest marketers invest in marketing strategies where results are attributable and the return on investment was worth it.
If there is one marketing strategy that is often far too overlooked by B2B marketers it is in the context of partnership marketing. Regardless of your marketing goals, there are likely a host of marketing partnership opportunities waiting to be explored by you and your team today.
So in this post we’ll make the case for why partnership marketing should be a core component of your overall marketing plan and discuss how to maximize the benefits of this approach.
What is Partnership Marketing?
Partnership marketing is a strategic collaboration between two or more businesses that helps each firm reach its respective business and marketing goals. While there are many popular forms of partner marketing, like affiliate and referral marketing partnerships, most B2B and professional services firms explore marketing partnerships centered around thought leadership content and events.
The goals of partnership marketing usually include the following:
- Increasing brand awareness and reach to an audience segment
- Generating more website and social media traffic
- Increasing website conversions
- Attracting new customers and clients
- Enhance your firm’s credibility in the marketplace
Every marketing partnership must be mutually beneficial and will need to be customized to the goals of each party. But before you jump into business with a new marketing partner, you need to make sure you’ve selected the right one.
How to Find the Perfect Marketing Partner
Before you begin your search for potential partners to collaborate with, your team needs to document the goals you want to achieve from these relationships. Are you trying to bring more visibility to a particular service offering? Is there a piece of content you’d like to share to a wider audience? Determining these strategic goals will help inform your search for a new marketing partner.
The first criteria you need to use when finding a marketing partner is to look for businesses or associations with similar target audiences to you and ones that offer complementary products or services. It is crucial to determine that there are no conflicts of interest by working with these partners as early as possible.
It’s also a good idea to find firms that have a similar set of values—this will make the actual partnership much more enjoyable for both parties.
Then, look for mutually beneficial partnership opportunities. Some possibilities include:
- Hosting a joint webinar.
- Exchanging content with your respective audiences.
- Conducting a research study together or sharing research findings.
- Producing a premium piece of content together, like an eBook.
- Referring prospects to one another when appropriate.
Don’t expect there to be a one-size-fits-all partnership template because the right opportunities can vary from partner to partner. We’ve written more detail about these kinds of marketing content partnerships here.
Beginning the Partnership Relationship
Once you’ve identified potential marketing partners, take the leap and reach out to them. You’ll need to be strategic in your outreach though. Business leaders and marketers are accustomed to receiving lots of emails promising “partnerships.” Only to be disappointed with a sales email disguised as partnership.
We recommend that if email is your initial approach, keep it short and concise. Make the intention of the email and the value of a partnership clear. Demonstrate that you’ve done your research. As you begin piquing interest and getting a response, focus on building relationships. Aim to get to know your point of contacts, their goals, and how much influence they have in their organization. You may have to be introduced to other team members you didn’t initially reach out to in at the beginning. Partnerships are a big investment for all parties. So don’t rush this important relationship building phase.
Initial discussions should be focused on getting to know one another and assessing if a marketing partnership is a good fit. If circumstances allow, phone calls or video conference calls are preferable to email chains. These interactions are more personal and will better indicate what it’d be like to work together.
Keep in mind that not everyone you speak with will make a good strategic marketing partner. At the very least, you’ve made a connection, and opportunities to collaborate may arise down the road.
Setting the Proper Partnership Expectations
Not all partnerships will look alike—so, identify the specific collaboration opportunities that all firms are comfortable with and begin planning. With multiple parties involved, it’s essential to begin the planning process well in advance of any actual actions. For example, if you’re planning to conduct a webinar together, you’ll want to give yourselves and your partner plenty of time to get the details in order. Be sure to discuss all potential snafus upfront and set proper expectations.
Let’s build out the example of a co-marketing webinar between two firms. If you’re conducting a joint webinar, here are some details to iron out before committing:
- How big is the partners email and social media reach?
- Who are the subject matter experts each firm wants to be a presenter?
- Which firm will host the webinar and set up the registration page?
- Who will be creating the presentation slides and what will the editing process look like?
- How will each firm promote the webinar and when?
- What are the deadlines to keep things on track?
- What data will be shared among each party after the webinar?
- Are there any follow-up activities that each firm will conduct?
Determining all the details from the get-go will make the partnership process smooth and help ensure a positive experience for all parties involved. Meaningful strategic partnerships are all about expectations and planning. Set out with a firm grasp on your goals. Build trusting relationships with firms that can help you reach those goals, while you help them reach theirs as well — and elevate your marketing to the next level.
Measuring the Impact of Your Marketing Partnership
Once you have progressed into the activities associated with your marketing partnership, you’ll want to meet with your team and discuss how the partnership is going. Has this partner met the expectations set at the beginning of the initiative? Have they been easy to work with? Have their been any issues that need resolving? You’ll want to discuss these questions with your team and document your notes along the way.
As the partnership is activated, turn back to your original marketing goals and begin measuring impact. Is the marketing partnership generating new visibility, engagement, or leads with relevant prospects? Answer these questions and track your findings.
By this point, you should have a clear picture if the marketing partnership has extra potential to continue in the near future. You’ve set your goals, vetted the marketing partner, and tracked your progress and results.
Regardless if the marketing partnership was a success or not, you’ll have learned valuable lessons that can help you in future marketing partnership initiatives.
A Marketing Partnership Example
Hinge has long used marketing partnerships as a way to reach our potential customers. Here’s an example of one of the longest standing partnerships we have managed. It is our decade long partnership with the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM).
For many years, AAM had wanted to produce an ongoing piece of research for their members on marketing budget. With our research and marketing expertise, we were able to design a new study that captured exactly the kind of data their members found valuable. In return Hinge was able to showcase our research prowess and marketing expertise to the AAM members.
You can read more about this marketing partnership here.
As we mentioned above, not all examples of marketing partnerships need to be this sophisticated. Perhaps you find another business that is willing to distribute an email on your behalf to their audience. The scope and size of your marketing partnerships can vary greatly.
Related: Crafting a Differentiation Strategy for Professional Services Firms