Identifying Ideal Partners: Navigating the Waters of the ‘Watering Hole’
In today’s hyper-competitive business environment, partnering with other companies can be a powerful way to drive growth and boost revenue. But how do you identify the right partners to work with, and how do you ensure that your partnership efforts are effective and yield positive results?
At Lead Forensics, we believe that identifying ideal partners is key to unlocking the secrets of successful partner marketing. But how do you go about finding these partners? It all starts with the concept of the “watering hole.”
The watering hole is the place where your target audience spends time online. It could be a social media platform, a trade publication, a professional association, or any other online community where your ideal buyers congregate. The key is to identify these watering holes and then focus your marketing efforts on these locations.
Partner marketing is all about building relationships and collaborating with other companies in your industry. By identifying the watering holes where your ideal buyers spend time, you can find other companies that have a similar target audience and work together to create content and events that appeal to these buyers.
By partnering with other companies in this way, you can expand your reach and tap into new audiences that you might not have been able to reach on your own. You can also build credibility by associating yourself with other trusted companies in your industry.
Once you’ve identified the watering holes where your ideal buyers spend time, the next step is to find the right partners to work with. This can be challenging, as you want to find companies that have a similar target audience but aren’t direct competitors.
One approach is to look for companies that offer complementary products or services to your own. For example, if you sell marketing automation software, you might partner with a company that offers content marketing services.
“Who do my buyers trust that are related to this piece? You can do so many things with that. Let’s say a virtual event, right? It would be really dumb to ever host a virtual event that is only about your brand because you can only market to the database that you already have.” Jared Fuller, co-founder and CEO of Partner Hacker, and Chief Ecosystem Officer at Reveal, in our webinar Unlock the Secrets of Partner Marketing.
Another approach is to look for companies that have a similar point of view on the industry or the business problems that you are trying to solve. By partnering with companies that share your values and perspectives, you can create a more cohesive message and build a stronger brand.
It’s also important to consider the size and resources of potential partners. Ideally, you want to work with companies that have a similar level of resources and expertise as your own. This will ensure that you can work together effectively and achieve your goals.
Once you’ve identified your ideal partners, the next step is to create effective partner marketing campaigns. This involves working closely with your partners to develop content and events that appeal to your target audience.
Whatever approach you take, it’s important to work closely with your partners to ensure that your content and events are aligned and complement each other. By working together, you can create a more cohesive and effective message that resonates with your target audience.
