The Meaning of Business Collaboration. By Steve Marsten.

There is a lot of talk around Gladstone at the moment of Business Networks for small and micro businesses. There is also some confusion about the aims and goals of these networks as well understanding some of the jargon that academics and even accountants tend to overuse.

So I want to clarify a few points raised by clients this week. There is plenty said about collaborations in business networks. I am always cautious about Business Groups that provide business to business services within the group or network without addressing the issues of quality and value.

Collaborations and strategic brand partnerships are the most effective budget-friendly and valuable tools to tap into, provided they have businesses (or existing communities of relevant people) that are connected to your target market.

A real collaboration is where two or more businesses determine how to reach end goals for both businesses. Maybe it's building a joint email list or valuable content or just selling tickets to a jointly sponsored event. Either way both need to be committed to quality of product or service and adding real value to their clients.

Another way of collaborating is to identify a well known local brand that already holds an engaged audience or following, that fits within your target market. This is a particularly valuable resource for small and micro businesses. Collaborative marketing is not about money but about leveraging a targeted exposure for your business within an existing client base.

Finally, think about what you can offer your audience and that of your collaborator that will encourage your new and existing customers to engage or re-engage with you and provide a return to you and your collaborator.

At Sothertons we continue to help and assist micro and start up businesses to reach their potential by assisting them to get creative with some brand collaborations. Call us on 07 4972 1300.