Welcome back to our summer series, exploring ways to get you out of the day-to-day while still contributing to your business’s success. So far, we’ve looked at the DYI Customer Survey, Giving Yourself a Demotion, and further exploring That Idea You Had. Today’s suggestion gets you out of the office too – introducing yourself to other businesses in the area.
You’re probably wondering how that could benefit you and there are a few different ways. First, word of mouth referrals are still the most valuable form of advertising. Introducing yourself and what you do to ten new people can generate customers you’d never reach in other ways. It also gives you the chance to refer people to them, strengthening the relationship. It may also give you ideas for a formal cooperative advertising campaign. Just as an example, if you’re in the tire business and the shop across from you does oil changes, you could do a spring promotion offering a tire change and oil change at a discount, sharing the ad costs.
Another potential notion to keep in mind is cooperative staffing. If you share a similar work force but have opposite busy seasons, you can both benefit from keeping good employees retained while lowering labour costs on your respective off seasons.
Think about purchasing power too, as you make your rounds. Whether it’s paper for the printer, coffee supplies, or shop parts, if you share a common need, volume purchasing can offset rising costs.
The main thing is just to broaden your network. The more you know about other businesses, the more ideas you’ll have about how you might help each other.
If you’re reluctant to just pop in on people, you can always do some research first or even make an appointment with the boss ahead of time. Check their website and go in to the meeting with an idea to discuss. The worst that can happen is you’ll make a new friend!
