The Power of Strategic Alliances!

www.ClogOn.com is headed to the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California on March 31st and April 1st, 2006. Keep Clogging Strong! This article is one of the ways we are taking these huge clogging steps!

"There are a few basic steps you should follow to help ensure that your new alliances are effective. First, be sure to think about what you want the alliance to accomplish. Are you simply trying to reach new potential customers? Or are you also trying to reduce your marketing costs? In general, think about the goals of the alliance. Here are some things you might want to consider.

• You will get access to the networks of your partners.
• You will get to associate your business with another, potentially, more established brand.
• You can decrease your overall marketing costs, while expanding your reach.
• You can learn from other businesses. What has been successful for them in the past?

"Next you should think about who you want to partner with. If you are a Realtor, you might think of mortgage originators or real estate attorney's that you could partner with. Bear in mind that your partner does not have to have the same goals are you, but they should be complementary. Here are several ways you can potentially form and alliance with another business.

• Create an alliance with a customer - Creating a mutually beneficial relationship with a key customer can strengthen the relationship and reduce your risk of losing this key customer.
• Create an alliance with a market leader – If you are a small business, you may be able to reap hue rewards from partnering with the market leader in your area. You may be able to offer a level of local penetration that a big company may have trouble creating on it's own. The alliance may not offer a huge financial incentive for the small business but you can leverage the alliance in your own marketing program. If you are the market leader, consider partnering with a young, easer business that might be able to offer you this type of market penetration.
• Create an alliance with a non-profit organization – You might be able to create an alliance with a trade organization or local community organization, which offer not only direct rewards, but also in-direct rewards from helping a good cause.
• Create an alliance with a competitor – while you have to pay very close attention to detail when partnering with a competitor, you might be able to tap into their resources to extend your reach. They might be a competitor, but may not have the specific expertise that you do. For example, many people would consider Yahoo! and Microsoft's MSN internet portal to be competitors, but MSN recognized Yahoo! Strengths in keyword driven advertising and started featuring Yahoo! Ads with their search results. Of course, MSN is now developing their own contextual advertising system, which means the partnership is coming to an end soon.
• Create an alliance with a parelell industry – simply stated, find another business in your market but that is not a direct competitor and then team up to market to the same customer base. Each company can pitch in financially and see incremental results from their marketing activities.

This is a great article about Strategic Alliances. As the owner and operator of an online clogging website, www.ClogOn.com, I have formed a very profitable strategic alliance with a videography and photography company, www.HighlightSports.com. My background is in marketing, sales, and clogging (a percussive dance similar to tap); my partners background is in technology, videography, photography, and cheer. Though you may think they are not highly related, we've found it to be a win-win for both parties.

My main objectives are to help build his business through advertising and sponsorship, while in turn sharing business ideas and marketing strategies to build my business as well. In fact, tomorrow, March 31st, we are headed to the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, home of the Academy Awards, for the West Coast National Cheer Competition. We plan to distribute over 5,000 customized DVDs and photographs to these avid cheerleaders - something they can cherish for a lifetime. How does this help me? My company name and logo appear on every DVD, along with coupons we hand out at the event which we can track for future reference. It may be a long shot, but we'll never know until we try.

I'm excited about the future of our Strategic Alliance and feel Communication is Critical to our success. We have to both know what is expected of the other if it's going to be a win-win. Visit www.ClogOn.com and www.HighlightSports.com for more information.