What is Partnership Marketing? Definition and Examples

If two or more businesses are working together in a marketing campaign to achieve mutual benefits, they are involved in partnership marketing or partner marketing. Their aim is to leverage the strengths of each partner to achieve a much more effective marketing initiative or campaign.

Companies decide to embrace such types of marketing when they realize that together they can accomplish much more than if each participant acted alone.

Partnership Marketing - image for article
Image created by Market Business News.

Callrail.com has the following definition of the term:

“Partner marketing is a collaboration in which two brands work together to promote one another’s products or services. These two companies are usually similar enough to attract related audiences, but different enough that each company can bring in new customers for the other.”

“That way, both partners add to their value propositions.”

Partnership marketing – many types

There are many different forms of partnership marketing, including co-branding initiatives, influencer marketing, event sponsorships, joint promotions, affiliate marketing, and product collaborations.

In all cases, the participants work together, i.e., in partnership, hence the name. They believe that together they can achieve common goals and objectives more effectively.

Partnership marketing – advantages

  • Expand your reach

If you would like to expand your reach and tap into new consumer groups, you should seriously consider this type of marketing approach.

By partnering with another business or organization with a similar customer base or target market, the two (three, four…) of you can leverage each other’s strengths.

  • Reduce costs and boost efficiency

When we work together with others, we can take advantage of greater economies of scale, which means lower costs and greater efficiency.

By sharing resources, companies can achieve much more with significantly lower costs than they could on their own.

  • Good for your brand

People who have taken part in this type of marketing campaign say that it was good for their company’s reputation and brand image. This is especially the case if you partner with high-profile organizations.

Choosing your partner

When considering which partner to work with, make sure you both/all have compatible goals and values. All participants should be committed to achieving similar outcomes. They should also have a similar vision regarding how they would like to achieve those outcomes.

In a partnership marketing arrangement, you and they should have complementary strengths. For example, you may excel at product development while your partner has an exceptionally skilled and well-staffed marketing and sales department.

Partnership marketing – clear roles and responsibilities

Make sure that you and everybody else knows exactly what all your roles and duties are beforehand. There should be a clear marketing plan, realistic expectations, and mutually agreed goals and objectives.

When done properly, working with one or more partners can work wonders for your business’ reputation and brand image. It also helps boost sales, and future growth.