It's no secret that you should keep your customers
close. But, you may not have heard that you
should keep your competition even closer. You
may have heard you should legally spy on your
competition, but that's different than keeping them
close.
You're likely thinking why should I do such a thing?
Because that's the best way to know what they're
up to. You need to stay on top of things so your
business doesn't get left behind.
How do you keep your competition even closer?
Create joint venture deals with them. You're saying,
WHAT?! Yes, you read it right. There are many
joint venture deals that you can do where it doesn't
matter that you're in competition with the other
business.
Here are a few:
Develop or create a neutral product together. For
example, co-author an ebook together and split the
profits.
Team up to bring down your biggest competition.
Share valuable information with each other. Cut
costs buy sharing equipment and skills. Use the
extra money to run co-op ads. This won't work if
they are your biggest competition.
Sponsor an event together. You would be able to
split the costs and both save money. You both
would be able to get the word out about your
businesses.
Promote each others products that are related
but don't create a competition. Just bundle them in
a package deal and split the profits.
Create a viral freebie together. You both could run
ads in the freebie. A free ebook, for example. You
could allow other people to give it away. The best
business ad wins the most sales.
There are also disadvantages to these joint venture
deals. They may find out important information
about your business that you don't want them to
know, but the same thing could happen to them.
In the long run, you may end up becoming friends
and partners by developing this relationship. You
may even combine your businesses.
About the Author
The Joint Venture Marketing Directory! Find tons of
online businesses, web masters and e-zine publishers
that want to joint venture and barter with you! Visit:
http://www.ldpublishing.com