Partnership Marketing’s Impact on Sales

Partnership marketing occurs when two or more brands or companies work together to build each other’s businesses. The collaboration is mutually beneficial, meaning that every party involved gets an advantage. It is one of the main reasons certain companies’ sales growths increase proportionately with other companies.

Affiliate marketing was the first informal type of partnership marketing. The Performance Marketing Association found that 16.08% was the return on ad spend. The data shows that companies can drive traffic to their websites by working together. Partners in marketing are able to increase the attraction and conversion of new clients.

Companies building a partnership in marketing have to complement each other’s strengths. Brands should ensure that they are making a positive value addition when collaborating. Developing similar partnership interests can also facilitate a better working relationship. This leads to a deeper trust between partners, allowing them to work together for a longer period.

For instance, offering Wi-Fi at coffee shops is complementary since many people use their phones while enjoying coffee. Hence, it might not be uncommon to find a company such as Google partnering with Starbucks.

Implementing a Partnership Marketing Strategy

Seek out partners that will expose you to a new or broader part of the market. For instance, coming-of-age generations are constantly adding new demographics to the pool of consumers. Ensure you partner with companies that are directly in touch with, or have great exposure to, any market demographics new to your company.

Have clearly defined goals before implementing any marketing strategy. For instance, you could have objectives such as:

• Acquiring and retaining new clients
• Growing the conversion rate of your online presence
• Creating more traffic
• Increasing the broadness of your reach
• Ensuring more people know about your brand

Brand awareness is a key objective of partnership marketing. Look for business partners that will enhance your brand image. For example, consider your target audience and your partner’s target audience. You can easily create a great brand image if you have similar tastes and preferences.

The target audience needs to share a few traits. This will make it easier for them to associate the consumption of one product with another and enhance the quality of the partnership. The partners will become more cooperative. The objective is to ensure that each company’s success is partly dependent on the marketing efforts of the other.

Forms of Partnership Marketing

There are different ways in which a company can form collaborations in partnership. The first is sponsorship marketing. For instance, sports executives can enter into sponsorship marketing with various sports personalities. But the key to sales growth is to ensure that there is a mutual benefit.

An example of great sponsorship marketing is between the Heineken Company and UEFA. The alcohol company grows its brand and promotes competition in distant and new markets. And sports executives work with athletes who have a global following. Partnering allows both companies to gain from the exposure of working with such an athlete. Additionally, the player gains more recognition and support from Heineken’s consumer base.

The second form of partnership marketing is a distribution partnership. Sports executives can work with athletes who have products to get into the market, offering both brands through similar distribution channels. This creates trust among consumers that the unknown brand offers goods of the same quality as the known brand.

Other forms of partnership marketing include:

Creation of a product that represents the two brands — co-branding
Content marketing
Sponsoring events

The access and popularity of sports celebrities know no limits. Sports executives who work with famous athletes have greater access to new markets already familiar with their sport.

How Can Partnership Marketing Increase Sales?

Collaborative partnerships in advertising can increase sales through exposure. They also give more people access to your products. Your existing partners have current relationships that you can look into. This will help you narrow down your target audience and better understand who to sell to.

Increased brand awareness can also increase sales. It is not uncommon for people not to buy sport-related goods because they do not know the brands. Having the right partner while advertising can help you develop a better marketing plan.

Partnership marketing lets you gather more data and feedback about your target audience. You can get a clearer picture of what the consumer wants and how you can deliver it. Finally, collaborative marketing strategies are the future of product promotion. Increased sales lead to a higher market share. This can help you bring more athletes onboard