3 ways companies can work together to earn word of mouth

Farmers and media companies, breweries and yoga studios, roller derby leagues and event security: These unlikely partnerships have helped each business start more conversations, get more visibility, and earn more customers.

[Welcome back to our Word of Mouth Marketing Lessons newsletter. This is text from the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using this handy form.]

Chances are — whether you sell the same thing or not — you have an audience another small business would love to reach. Why not share some of that reach (and creativity) to do something remarkable together?

Here are three examples of small business partnerships working together to reach their customers in new ways:

1. Guest content
2. Space sharing
3. Event staffing

1. Guest content

Modern Farmer magazine shares stories about modern agriculture, farms, and the people behind them. And every once in a while, the magazine lets small farms take over their Instagram account. For example, this May, Door Creek Orchard shared photos of the bee hives that help them pollinate, hawks that help them with gopher control, and an old photo of the owner’s mom on Mother’s Day. The content is interesting, personal, and great exposure for both the farm and the magazine. Do you have a platform to showcase another company’s content? Or would your content help make someone else’s platform more interesting?

2. Space sharing

Exile Brewing Company in Des Moines holds monthly yoga classes with Power Life Yoga in their parking lot. People come for a complimentary class and glass of beer. But the real draw is the community and hanging out that follows. Both companies have something to offer that brings people together, helps them make friends, and gives them a reason to come back. And by sharing their space and their time, they turn a parking lot and an hour yoga class into a remarkable event.

3. Event staffing

Texas Roller Derby, a roller derby league in Austin, stays visible in the community by offering to do door security for local events decked out in their skates and gear. The rollergirls get exposure for the sport by meeting attendees and event organizers, and the event hosts get a complimentary service that’s much more remarkable than someone wearing an “Event Staff” shirt at the front door. What service could you offer to help make someone’s event more exciting? Do you have a role in your next event that a local group would love to fill?

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Comments are closed.

Featured Downloads

9 Things to Share That Start Conversations

Use the examples in this guide to help inspire ways to make your message more portable and shareable.

Read More

3 Must-Use Word of Mouth Marketing Tools

These tools will help you kick off any word of mouth campaign no matter what topic, industry, or budget.

Read More

The Top Four Tips for Multiplying Your Word of Mouth

These tips can help you get your marketing to do more work without a lot of extra effort.

Read More

10 Ways to Turn Around Negative Word of Mouth

The most effective ways to stop negative WOM with examples from Zappos, FedEx, Dell, and more.

Read More

The New Topics Worksheet

All word of mouth starts with a topic of conversation — a simple, portable, repeatable idea that gets people talking.

Read More

The Word of Mouth Action Plan

Create a complete word of mouth marketing plan using this worksheet’s eight simple steps.

Read More