4 Proven Benefits of Successful Joint Ventures

In today’s economy and competitive environment successful businesses are reaping the benefits of one of the oldest strategies – partnering. On line marketers have been using this strategy for years to catapult their sales to unbelievable heights and now, Joint Ventures are making a comeback in the bricks and mortar world of business.

A joint venture is when two or more business, individuals or projects come together to co‐market an opportunity, project or product to each other’s client list and new prospects. It allows you to leverage the relationships and goodwill already established by your partner to the benefit of both parties. So in layman terms, a joint venture is when you join forces with another business to make some money!

With joint ventures, you want to identify people who are selling into your target market with a non competitive product or service but who are working deals with the same individuals who make the decisions on your products or services. Develop a proposal that is mutually beneficial for both parties and a marketing strategy and hit the road with your co-branded offer.

Did you ever hear the old saying “you are only as good as the people you know”. This holds true for forming successful joint venture partnerships. People want to surround themselves with successful, positive and magnetic people and businesses with a strong brand so it is critical to align with a business with comparable values and goals.

Although this one of the quickest way to enhance your market presence and boost your profits, there are many other benefits to forming a partnership with another business in your space.

Benefit # 1: New Client Acquisition

Joint ventures are a great way to acquire new leads and new clients at no additional cost. By having new subscribers, you are able to continuing building a relationship with these people and even if they don’t buy from you right away, chances are they will eventually. Not a bad way to build a prospecting list without incurring any fees. Some new online marketers may benefit greatly from giving away all profits from their first joint venture just to build their list for future opportunities.

Benefit # 2: Enhanced Credibility

You gain instant rockstar status and enhanced credibility. One of the keys to an effective partnership is selecting the right partner. If you joint venture partner is reputable, trustworthy and has already established a great following, their followers will trust you based upon that recommendation. This is why your “list” is sacred. Do not partner with just anyone, make sure you select someone who is worthy of your list and make sure that you are worthy of theirs.

Benefit #3: Increase Breadth of Services

Joint ventures are a great way to offer your clients and prospects additional products. By jointly co‐branding a product, you and your partner are able to bring new solutions to your current client list increasing your breadth of services you offer. The more solutions you can bring to your customers, the more valuable you are to your customers.

Benefit #4: Improved Conversion Rate

You will enhance your conversion rate. One of the goals when you get your list is to convert those prospects into buying customers. With a joint venture partner, you will increase your conversion rate. Your joint venture partner will be endorsing you and your product and by that testimony alone, will convert more of their leads into sales in their own list. Since they already have an established relationship, their subscribers trust their endorsements and you can leverage that trust by offering a high quality product that will benefit the joint venture partner’s subscriber list.


©Kellie D’Andrea & Associates

Want to use this article in your newsletter or web site?You can, just include this complete blurb with it: Kellie D'Andrea is the creator of the “Build a Better Ezine System”and publishes "The Marketing Edge" a FREE award winning ezine for small business owners who want to gain the competitive edge with strategic marketing and branding techniques that actually work. Learn how to become the empowered entrepreneur with a FREE 5 part mini course offered at www.kelliedandrea.com.

“Positioning – Marketing’s Fifth “P”

Every marketer, business student and entrepreneur has been taught the 4 “P’s’ of classic marketing – Product, Pricing, Promotion and Place as the marketing mix model designed to be used by business to define their marketing strategy. The marketing mix has been around since the beginning of time and used as a tool to identify customer’s wants and needs and how to address the competitive landscape. But what about the 5th “P” in the marketing mix – Positioning?

Positioning is the bridge that connects the other 4 “P’s” together around a central theme and creates the brand equity that is so critical to the success and growth of any business and therefore the most important component to the marketing mix. Many companies approach their client base with a “one size – fits all” approach to their product or service but in today’s environment, this approach will not work. Each customer that you service in your business is unique and has different wants and different needs. Although your product may cover a wide range of attributes that may service the majority of those customers, a successful marketer knows how to use positioning as tool to customize a solution for all. Here are 5 things that you need to position to be successful:

1) Yourself – business is based upon relationships and people want to work with credible individuals, not big corporate entities. Use personal branding techniques to position yourself as an expert in your field with credibility and integrity, will yield increased sales. People will buy from people they trust.

2) Audience: your customers need to understand if they are in the right place and that there is a fit for your product and services. Skillful marketers can position the audience so they belong to target market and community and customized marketing messages specific to their needs and wants.


3) Brand: creating an image or perception in the minds of your customers is one of the most powerful positioning techniques. A brand position permeates through an entire organization and is supported each and every time a customer interacts with your organization.

4) Product: refers to what the customer thinks about your product – for example; lowest price, highest quality best service, easy access ect, when they are making a purchase decision. Your product position will directly connect to your value proposition and how you differentiate yourself from your competition.

5) Offer: refers to your approach to the sales process. Successful offers focus on the outcome your client will receive not the service or product offering. Your offer should be a combination of what outcome (benefits) your customer can expect and the way (feature) they will receive your product.



©Kellie D’Andrea & Associates

Want to use this article in your newsletter or web site?You can, just include this complete blurb with it: Kellie D'Andrea is the creator of the “Boost Your Business with Power Presentations System”and publishes "The Marketing Edge" a FREE award winning ezine for small business owners who want to gain the competitive edge with strategic marketing and branding techniques that actually work. For a limited time she is offering a FREE 5 part mini course on entrepreneurship offered at http://www.kelliedandrea.com/.

It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know!

In business, you often hear the statement “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know!” In the early 1900’s, Napoleon Hill introduced the concept of a mastermind group in his timeless classic “Think and Grow Rich.” He wrote the Mastermind Principle: “the coordination of knowledge and the effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.” Hill also wrote, “No two minds come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind.” The powerful result of a mastermind group is that there is a synergy of energy and excitement that partipants bring to the group therefore raising the bar by challenging and encouraging other members to create and implement their goals. Being part of a mastermind group has proven to have many benefits to enterprenaurial success:

Idea Sharing, Creativity and Brainstorming

Information is one of the most powerful assets a person can posses and having the ability to leverage other people’s information is exponentially better. Each group member will come with different experiences, perspectives and ideas that will most likely be your next big money making idea. Having the ability to brainstorm and be creative with a group of people all focused on helping you solve a problem is one of the biggest benefits you will experience from a mastermind group.

Accountability and Responsibility

Most goals are not achieved because as business owners, we are not held accountable to anyone to achieve them. It is our business and we want to procrastinate or put task on the backburner because of other operational issues we deal with, which is our prerogative, right? The second biggest benefit of a mastermind group is that they hold you accountable to reach your goals and monitor your actions to ensure you are on the right path. They act as sounding boards, gatekeepers and test groups all the while asking you where you stand with your plan.

Motivational Support

Staying positive and motivated is a big challenge for some business owners especially after the excitement of starting a business has worn off and the business becomes work. Businesses have many different sides to it and not everything runs smoothly all the time. This can be very frustrating and cause many entrepreneurs to become unmotivated. By surrounding yourself with a mastermind group, you will receive positive encouragement no matter how you perform and the active discussions you will participate in will most likely inspire and stimulate you to move forward.

Networking and Business Relationships

A big part of being in a mastermind group is developing solid relationships with your group members. These relationships have been proven to last a lifetime and be the catalyst for millions of dollars. You will form friendships and connections that will provide you more than just business benefits; it will provide you with a sense of belonging and being part of something special.

Additional Resources

In a year where time is money, having access to additional resources is critical to any business owner’s success. By connecting with peers in your mastermind group, you will be provided with access to the resources that others in your group are using to achieve similar results. This will reduce the time required to find alternative solutions as well as the learning curve usually associated with implementing new solutions. Not to mention, you will save time working within a group versus trying to figure something out on your own.


©Kellie D’Andrea & Associates

Want to use this article in your newsletter or web site?You can, just include this complete blurb with it: Kellie D'Andrea is the creator of the BLAST system and publishes "The Marketing Edge" a FREE award winning ezine for small business owners who want to gain the competitive edge with strategic marketing and branding techniques that actually work. Find out the 23 Common Mistakes Most Entrepreneurs make with a FREE report offered at http://www.kelliedandrea.com/.

Is Customer Service is the New Marketing?

I was browsing the web and came across an advertisement for a 1 day seminar called Customer Service is the New Marketing. I was intrigued by the title since I firmly believe that customer service should be a part of your marketing strategy. As a small business owner and a marketing consultant, I have found that providing a strong customer service base at your businesses, word of mouth will take off and you customers will reward you with relaying their positive experiences to their friends, families and business associates each chance they get.

Excellent customer service is the lifeblood of any business and a very critical piece to success when facing a bad economy and many competitors. You can offer promotions and slash prices to bring in as many new customers as you want, but unless you can get some of those customers to come back, your business won’t be profitable for long. Good customer service is all about bringing customers back. And about sending them away happy – happy enough to pass positive feedback about your business along to others, who may then try the product or service you offer for themselves and in their turn become repeat customers.

Below are the ten golden rules for Excellent Customer Service:

1. Answer your phone
2. Don’t make promises unless you WILL keep them
3. Listen to your customers
4. Deal with complaints
5. Be helpful – even if there’s no immediate profit in it
6. Train your staff to be ALWAYS helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable
7. Take the extra step
8. Throw in something extra
9. Keep in touch – you don’t want your customers to forget you
10. The customer IS always right, even when they are wrong



©2009 Kellie D’Andrea & Associates





Want to use this article in your newsletter or web site?

You can, just include this complete blurb with it: Kellie D'Andrea is the creator of the BLAST system and publishes "The Marketing Edge" a FREE award winning ezine for small business owners who want to gain the competitive edge with strategic marketing techniques that actually work. Find out the 23 Common Mistakes Most Entrepreneurs make with a FREE report offered at http://www.kelliedandrea.com/.

5 Thoughts when Creating a Customer Service Strategy

Many companies work each year on their strategic plans including how to evolve their technology solutions, their marketing positions and how to become more efficient in operations. They work diligently each year on putting together annual budgets and resource plans but how often do they put together a customer service strategy? A plan that focuses on knowing what your clients want, what their pain points are and what their needs for efficiencies are.

Some tips:

1) Know you customer at different levels

Don't just focus on one single point of contact. Each position within a client firm has different needs. go the extra mile, learn what your customers challenges are at different points within the organization. People move around, the more you know about your customers and the more people you stay in contact with, the stronger relationship you will have with your customer.

2) Establish a group who owns the high level relationship

A customer service group that focuses on the relationship rather than the day to day problem resolution or service delivery is integral to a successful customer service strategy. Set up performance metrics and a customer communication plan and hold this team accountable for the success of the relationship.

3) Develop a customer scorecard or metrics to manage and evaluate success

By establishing a set of expectations in the beginning and agreeing on how you will be measured makes it easier to track your accomplishments. By creating metrics and service standards, it is easy to highlight you positives. How many times do you get in trouble with a customer over a single mistake? Most people live in the moment and may need to be reminded of all the good.

4) Make sure your executive team reaches out

Customers want to feel special. Have a communication plan that requires the CEO or President to reach out to say hello or to check up on how the company is performing. And not just to the customer CEO, have them reach out to your day to day contact... it will make them feel special.

5) Always ask how you can improve

Markets, trends and industry change daily. Not to mention the players in your field. Always inquire about your performance and always be prepared to make changes. What worked yesterday might not work today. What was one individual preference may not be the next.. The key is to keep communicating and be very responsive to your customers changing needs.

©2009 Kellie D’Andrea & Associates


Want to use this article in your newsletter or web site?

You can, just include this complete blurb with it: Kellie D'Andrea is the creator of the BLAST system and publishes "The Marketing Edge" a FREE award winning ezine for small business owners who want to gain the competitive edge with strategic marketing techniques that actually work. Find out the 23 Common Mistakes Most Entrepreneurs make with a FREE report offered at www.kelliedandrea.com.