??Co-Marketing Has a Edge Over Traditional Referral Programs ??

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Having a referral program that delivers exceptional results is the dream of many businesses.

Referral partners, such as industry-adjacent real estate agents, home insurance companies, mortgage brokers, home inspection agents, landscapers, and homebuilders, have mastered the art of this type of program. They understand that at various stages of the home buying process, their services are essential, so they maintain lists of preferred providers to direct their clients to.

However, for everyday businesswomen, replicating this seamless referral program isn't always straightforward.

Unlike industry-specific services like those in real estate or home buying, our offerings may not always be top of mind for our associates' clients. Simply offering a cash incentive might not be sufficient motivation, especially when we're already juggling the demands of running our businesses and don't prioritize digging through our contact lists.

So, what's the alternative to a referral program when we're aiming to attract clients?

The answer lies in co-marketing partnerships with our complementary female connections. Your potential clients might already be within the networks of your LinkedIn connections, just waiting for your services to appear in their feed. By building co-marketing campaigns around our services, products, events, books, podcasts, etc., we can harness the collaborative marketing power needed to draw warm leads into our marketing funnel.

Not everyone has the resources to hire a dedicated marketing team, but co-marketing partnerships offer a smart alternative.

They can significantly reduce the costs, time, and resources required to successfully launch a campaign.

Co-Marketing Partnership Scenario

For instance, imagine hosting a mindset summit tailored specifically for female business owners who are introverts. A co-marketing campaign could involve:

• Identifying female connections in marketing, sales, goal setting, podcasting, magazine publishing, book publishing, etc., who are also introverts and would complement the summit's theme.
• Researching their LinkedIn activity, upcoming events, newsletters, etc., to develop win-win partnership ideas that align with their interests and offerings.
• Collaborating on creating a Mindset Journal for summit participants, incorporating components from all businesses involved, along with special offers.
• Hosting group virtual coffee sessions to deepen connections, share missions and visions, and explore further collaboration opportunities beyond the summit.
• Creating a Showcase Page for the summit to centralize activities and facilitate joint LinkedIn Audio Events to promote it.
• Coordinating joint newsletter releases and post series, including polls to engage the shared target audience and generate excitement about the summit.

All of these efforts are designed to increase visibility among the target audience.

Additionally, integrating a referral program into the event allows participants to refer their associates, further expanding the network and potential client base.

By leveraging the power of co-marketing partnerships, we can amplify our reach, engage our target audience, and create meaningful connections that extend beyond a single event or campaign.

Smart Women Partner & Grow Rich is on a mission to spark collaborative marketing relationships among 1M female LinkedIn members.

As such we are launching the 2024 One Million Woman Link Up. Most of us on LinkedIn have one or more women we engage collaboratively with. It's a movement that will connect our micro tribes and movements geared towards other women so we can finally accomplish that BIG goal (launch a business, get in shape, start a business group, publish a book, build a mailing list, give a conference, etc.) that has seemed out of reach. Get involved today by simply pledging to collaborate with 20 women this year using LinkedIn.

About Jerrilynn

Jerrilynn B. Thomas is a LinkedIn collaborative marketing strategist specializing in working with B2B female coaches and consultants who promote their services through a diverse array of channels, including books, events, VIP intensives, podcasts, speaking engagements, courses, and membership sites. Jerrilynn's expertise lies in guiding these professionals to expand their reach by cultivating a broader female audience for their exclusive offerings on LinkedIn by facilitating strategic co-marketing partnerships with their complementary female connections.