Simple partnership marketing checklist

Partnership marketing really is a great way to launch high ROI campaigns for any type of business.  Like with most things in life though, you get out of it what you put in.

One of the best ways to increase the chances of your success with partnership campaigns is to build a repeatable model and not start every partnership campaign from zero. The best place to start building a repeatable model is with a simple checklist that you can use for every campaign.

Here’s a simple list to get you started.

Before you get started.

You need to be on top of a few things before you start reaching out to potential partners. This doesn't mean you need to have everything setup perfectly but you do need to have a fairly good understanding of what you're about as a brand and who your target market is. Without these it will be almost impossible to find the right partner.

Also, there isn't a strict order to this. For example, you might already have campaign content ready to go before you select your co-marketing partner. This can happen when you're able to re-purpose existing content or when you have material left over from a prior campaign that you haven't used yet.

First:

If you're a more mature brand you probably already have these pretty well defined. If you're just starting out it's a good idea to put a little time into this but also don't get hung up on it. Just be clear on who you think your customer is and make sure you choose a brand to partner with that targets that same audience.

• Be sure you understand your brand values
  

• Be clear on your target market or audience

Before the partnership starts:

One of the great things that can happen when you start reaching out to potential partners is that you may stumble across companies that are already preparing to launch a campaign. Things can be quiet easy then - just ask yourself if they're targeting the right audience and if the brands involved are brands you want assoicated with your brand.

• Determine your marketing goals
  

• Build a list of possible campaign types
  

• Build a list of potential partners
  

• Reach out to prospective partners
  

• Negotiate and confirm partner participation
  

Once partnership confirmed:

This is really where you need to step up and make sure you deliver your side of the agreement. Finding partners is time consuming but when you do find a good partner you want to make sure they have such a good experience working with you that they want to do it again on future campaigns. Make sure you check in with them regularly throughout the campaign.

• Create campaign content

• Train each other on your products - often just a basic overview is required
  

• Launch campaign
  

• Follow up with partners to ensure participation
  

• Track results
  

After the campaign is completed:

A lot of companies will fail to complete the circle. By not reviewing results with your partners you miss the opportunity to learn how the next campaigns can be done even better. Also, reviewing results with your partners is also an opportunity to celebrate a successful campaign and congratulate them on a job well done. It's a great way to ensure that a one of partnership turns into strong ongoing relationship.

• Review results with your partners
  

• Learn from your experience - ask your partners what they thought was done well and what could be improved next time

Enjoy the process:

Working in partnership with other organisations can be a lot of fun. Other people bring fresh ideas, additional resources and additional talent. By working together you can achieve so much more.

Click here if you want to learn more about the benefits of partnership marketing or here if you want some inspiration from our epic list of brand partnerships examples ‍

You can read about some partnerships that went wrong so that you won't make the same mistakes yourself.