Tips for Collaborating with Other Local Riverside Businesses
As a business owner, it is easy to set all your sights on gaining customers and revenue. Between ads, events and social media posts, your limited budget and already busy schedule can become overwhelmed quite quickly. As a small business, it is crucial that your community know you exist so you can get customers in the door.
We have all heard the saying “there is strength in numbers” and this is so true for business partnerships. Riverside is a unique little town… we have the amenities of a city while still embracing our small town charm. Located in the heart of the Inland Empire, Riverside is home to a wide array of locally owned shops, restaurants, delis, music venues, breweries, coffee houses, and more. This spirited environment offers so many opportunities for small businesses to collaborate with each other to build a network that is equally beneficial for all involved.
Collaboration between small businesses can be hugely beneficial. Not only can it increase exposure for both companies, it can result in more leads and greater overall success compared to working on the same initiative alone. Partnering with another company with complementary expertise can enrich the content and attract a wider engaged audience.
Below is a discussion concerning how teaming up with other businesses can positively impact your business and how to be successful at it
Why Partner with Local Businesses?
Strategic partnerships are the key to bringing communities together. Consumers want to buy from locally owned businesses rather than national chain retailers because studies have shown that about 67 cents of every dollar spent at a small business stays and circulates in the local community. Today’s consumers are conscious of the fact that every time they purchase from a small business, they are not just adding to a bottom line of an already wealthy company, they are keeping a neighbor’s mortgage paid and food on their table.
As consumers grow ever more interested in shopping small and helping out their fellow neighbor, the opportunity for small business owners to partner up with other local businesses becomes more apparent and more important.
Partnerships Bring Brand Awareness to Both Businesses
The good thing is that these partnerships do not have to cost anything. The biggest benefit is the word-of-mouth from the owner to their customers. The businesses within the partnership will share info about each other’s business. Your products and services likely do not cover everything your customers need, so make strategic partnerships could unknowingly fill that need for customers.
Choose Businesses That Complement Yours
Partnerships work best between businesses with similar interests in the industry. Therefore, there is more to benefit from a business that complements yours than one that does not.
When it comes to collaborating with other local businesses, similarity can be your ally. It is a good idea to start with other businesses that are like your own, because these partnerships keep everyone’s customers first.
Here are a few types of partnerships to consider, but do not be afraid to think outside the box and get creative with who to partner with.
- Complementary Products & Services: Collaborating with businesses that your customers are likely to buy from based on their interests, purchases, and needs is a great fit. For example, a massage therapist could partner with a local soap maker or local essential oils company.
- Creative Parallels: Look for businesses that are similar to yours but offer different services or focus on a different specialty or demographic. For example, a hair salon could partner with a dog groomer to offer complementary discounts for similar services for dogs and cats. Think of companies you might refer your customers to for other ideas on who to collaborate with.
- Fan & Local Favorites: What other local businesses do your customers love? If your auto repair shop is down the street from a donut shop, offering a free coffee to your customers while they wait could also bring in customers for other items for the donut shop.
What Can You Do With Collaborators?
Once you have identified local businesses you want to work with, what should you do to collaborate together? Here are a few ideas.
Event Collaboration
Local events provide an important opportunity to connect with your community. Sharing a booth at the local fair or street concert allows your business to make a connection face-to-face with potential customers. For example, if you own a small winery, sharing a table with a florist will enhance your display while also giving the florist a chance to get their name out there. This is a huge opportunity to resonate with potential customers while saving money in booth fees.
Social Collaboration
Calling attention to local businesses you have partnered with is a friendly way to use your following to expand the other businesses reach, and vice-versa. To do so, build a few posts into your social content calendar that directly tags your partners to show off what great things the other business is doing, and then collaborate with that business partner to have them also build posts that highlight your business. These types of social posts expose the followers of BOTH accounts to new businesses they are sure to love. After all, if they follow your business account, they will trust that your friends should be their friends too.
Merchandising Collaboration
The key to merchandising appropriately is to first identify the goals you are trying to achieve. Whether you want your business or brand to be associated with a specific business with complimentary products or services or if you have an important anniversary product that could use some help to be showcased in a special way, collaborating with another small business may be mutually beneficial. If your goals are centered around creating attention for your business or products, try retail merchandising, you could try placing another business’ items strategically where you transact with customers. And a key detail to note with this option is that placement of your products near related items in a convenient and discoverable location will directly communicate the benefits your product brings to your target customer.
How Stance CRE Can Help You
Navigating the commercial real estate market can be an intimidating task, especially in a fast-moving market such as the Inland Empire. Any commercial real estate situation can change in the blink of an eye, leaving you to face challenges that you never anticipated. And to make a sale that meets your pricing and timeline goals, there are even more factors to keep in mind.
Stance CRE can be a great resource regardless of which type of business owner you are. We have been adding value to business owners’ decisions right here in Riverside for years. We are not just market experts, we are your neighbors! We are a local business with local interests.
At Stance Commercial Real Estate, we live and breathe Riverside culture. We are not only working in the community, we live here… we love it and we want to help you succeed in it!
Call us today at (909) 772-1212 and let us help you decide which type of role is best for you!
