Recommendations from people in the area are among the most reliable ways of winning customers: whoever arrives by recommendation already trusts. A partnership between local companies is a way of organising those recommendations instead of waiting for them to happen.
Who makes sense
Look for businesses that serve the same customer as you, but in something else:
- Whoever appears before or after you in the customer's life: someone buying a house needs renovations; someone opening a shop needs accounting and communications.
- Whoever shares your audience without being a competitor.
- Business, trade and sector associations, schools, clubs and community groups in the area.
- Local press and guides, which look for people with something useful to say.
- Suppliers and customers you already work with and who like what you do.
Formats that tend to work
- Mutual recommendation. Each speaks of the other to their customers, with a simple message or card.
- Cross content. An article, an interview or a post made by both, for both audiences.
- A joint event or session. A talk, a morning of Q&A, a small workshop.
- A joint offer. A special condition for customers of both companies, without lowering the value of either.
- Presence at local initiatives. Fairs, open days, support for local events.
How to propose
- Start with what you give the other, not what you want. "Your customers usually need X; I can help them."
- Propose a small action, one that can be done in a week, before talking about bigger agreements.
- Agree what is said, to whom, and how each replies to whoever arrives by recommendation.
- Define how to measure: ask new customers how they came to know the company.
Important cautions
- Regulated areas. In health and other professions, there are rules about cross-recommendations and about receiving or paying for referring customers. Check your professional body's rules before agreeing anything.
- Customer data. Do not share customers' contact details with another company without each person's clear consent.
- Transparency. If there is a special condition, say so. Hidden commissions for recommending destroy the trust of whoever recommends.
- Only recommend what you know. A customer's bad experience with your partner comes back on you.
How to measure whether it is worth it
Record where new enquiries come from, including recommendations. After a few months, see which partnerships brought the right enquiries and which stayed only an intention. Keep the first and free up time from the second. For each company's local presence, read what local SEO is and how to show up in near me searches. In Digital Marketing, partnerships come in as a complement to what is already done online.
The list of five
Write down five businesses in your area that serve the same customer as you, without being competitors. For each, write one useful thing you can offer their customers and one small action you can propose: a message, a post, a twenty-minute conversation. Contact one a week. After a month, see with how many there was a conversation and what was agreed. It is not necessary for all to accept: one or two becoming a lasting relationship is enough. If a partnership does not work out, that is fine: say thank you and move on to the next one. What is learned in each conversation serves the next.
In short
- Local partnerships join companies that serve the same customer without competing.
- Formats: mutual recommendation, cross content, events, joint offers and local initiatives.
- Start with what you give the other and with a small action.
- Take care with regulated areas, customer data and hidden commissions.
Quick questions
Can I receive a commission for recommending customers?
It depends on the sector. In health and other regulated professions, it may be forbidden or have specific rules. Check your professional body's rules before agreeing.
What if the partner does not deliver?
Agree in writing what is expected from each side and keep the partnership light, so it can end at no cost. Only recommend what you know well.
How many partnerships should I have?
A few, well looked after. Two or three live relationships are worth more than ten on paper.
Want to see who already serves the same customers as you?
The exploratory call is a 30-minute conversation, at no cost. We identify with you who in your area already serves the same customers. You keep the written summary.
Book an exploratory call