Last week, I shared with you the strategy of sampling, one of 7 powerful methods for growing your business on the Internet.
As an Internet lawyer, I see many of my clients use samples successfully to acquire new clients and have used sampling myself in businesses that I own.
Today, let’s talk about a second strategy for growing your company.
Strategy # 2 – Endorsed Reciprocal Promotions.
How do they work?
Find complementary businesses online and set up a cross-promotion to each other’s clients.
Why are they effective?
The endorsement by a seller of a complementary product or service offered by you carries far more weight with the vendor’s clients than you trying to reach out cold to the same prospects. The same holds true when you endorse that business’ offering to your clients.
This only works where both offers deliver value. Don’t set up a reciprocal cross-promotion with a business that sells crap or provides inferior client service. It’s your reputation on the line.
Whether or not you get a cut of sales to your clients of the other business’ products, you still need to disclose the existence of a your reciprocal relationship to prospects who receive the offers so that informed purchasing decisions can be made. This isn’t only a good business practice. It’s also U.S. federal law.
In order to ensure that a reciprocal endorsed promotion goes well, you’ll want to have a signed written agreement with the other business’ owner that describes who is doing what and when as part of the promotion. Your Internet lawyer can draft an agreement to protect you.
Won’t a verbal agreement work? Rarely.
Without a written contract in place, there’s likely to be hard feelings or a sense of being cheated because one side believes the other has not performed as informally promised.
Next week, I’ll share with you a third method for growing your company this year. In the meantime, decide how you’ll apply sampling (Strategy #1) and endorsed reciprocal promotions (Strategy #2) in your business right now.