The Other P

In Marketing 101 we are taught about the 4 P’s – Price, Product Place (Distribution) and Promotion. In more advanced courses we are taught of the additional P’s that apply to Services Marketing, namely – People, Process and Physical Evidence (of the service delivery).

In my experience there is another “P” that can be applied to assist in achieving marketing objectives – Partnerships. Creating and leveraging relationships with other organisations can provide a myriad of opportunities for driving your business.

Suitable Partners

There is no point partnering with a company whose customers are completely different to yours – even if you are mates with the Marketing Director. Think about companies that your customers do business with and there is a fair chance that they will have other customers who are not currently buying from you.

It sounds obvious but make sure that companies you plan to partner with do not compete with you. Even if you are not in the same line of business, are they competing for the same consumer dollar or do they appear to have aspirations to get into you market?

Finally, make sure there is a relevant brand fit. If you are a premium brand like Cunard, a challenger brand like Jetstar may not be the ideal partner.


Leveraging Partnerships

So now that you have identified suitable partners and assuming they want to work with you, how do you leverage your new relationship? The possibilities are endless and often as you start to work with a partner and learn more about their business you will both discover new and different ways to build on the initial relationship.

Some thought starters are below:

Special offers to each others base. This is the simplest form of partnership and may consist of a flyer or coupon in each others regular mailers (see my blog on Leveraging Every Touch Point) or shopping bags. Be careful to avoid third line forcing (see below) and don’t simply exchange contact details of your customers or your risk contravening the Privacy Act.

Shared links. Recommend each other on your respective websites.

Bundled offers. Think mobile phone handsets bundled with phone plans. This can be quite effective if your products are complimentary but again, be aware of third line forcing.

Channel Support. Are your trucks delivering to the same areas as your partner? Can you co-ordinate complementary territories?


Legal Traps

Privacy: For an overview of Federal Privacy Law I refer you to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. See http://www.privacy.gov.au/act/

Third line forcing: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) explains third line forcing as follows – “Third line forcing is a specific form of exclusive dealing prohibited outright by the Trade Practices Act. It involves the supply of goods or services on condition that the purchaser buys goods or services from a particular third party, or a refusal to supply because the purchaser will not agree to that condition. (See http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/816377 ). This prevents a company from only offering a product or service if the customer does business with a third party.