As we continue our focus on creating profitable strategic alliances for your business, we move to the next step of finding an ally that can help your business grow. Here are two more things to look for in an ally.
Their Customers Like Them and They Like Their Customers
This may sounds obvious, but it isn’t. There are two things you don’t want. The first is an ally business with customers that hate it, and the second is to get a whole bunch of new customers who the ally business owner hates. You need to check that the ally business thinks highly of its customers before you get into an agreement with them. Think about it, if they hate the first business, what chance do you have to make a good impression and will they really give you a chance?
Large Number of Customers
If the ally business has dealt only with a very small number of customers, why would you bother, unless you were in the type of market that only has a handful of customers? Yes, those markets do exist, but if your business isn’t going after them, stick with allies who have many customers.
If they have a huge number of customers, you may even want to offer exclusivity to the business in exchange for access to the whole customer base, including phone numbers and email addresses.
Of course, the more successful businesses will be harder to convince. They don’t need the customers that you will send them, especially if you are smaller than they are, so you’ve got to find a way to make it worth their while.
You need to ask this question when considering an ally business: “They’ve got so much to offer me. Do I have anything to offer them?” If you don’t, you may have to think again. It’s probably worth a try, but you may have to be a little less ambitious in finding that ally.
Tags: ActionCOACH, ally, ally business, business growth, cashflow, customers, grow your business, markets, profits, strategic alliance