Publishers are slowly waking up to the fact that their “greatest challenge” “in the digital age” is discoverability, notes Laura Hazard Owen. Yet what she writes is increasingly true for almost any kind of business or other organization, whether it yet sells online or not. To be more easily discovered, hone  these seven traits: 1. [...]

Three real-life, partner-based success stories show you how to attract more customers while spending less on promotion. How can you adapt these approaches to your kind of business so more people discover you, often through vendors they trust, and are eager to buy? 1. Together Become a Bigger Location-Centered Magnet to Attract More People Two [...]

Meetup and GE’s partnership startled many people who wrote about it yet the companies had a sweet spot of mutual benefit. They both serve people who care about clean technology. So joining forces to launch a crowdsourcing contest for best ideas for a smart grid made sense. Each company has a different “personality” and could [...]

Even when novelists dream of fame and fortune few probably dream this big. Lucky Nicholas Sparks. Even before the screenplay is written a partnering-inclined movie producer joined forces with a publisher to launch a huge promotional campaign for the book from which it will be made – Nicholas Sparks’ Safe Haven. This is a first. [...]

From Palm Springs to Puerto Rico s’mores were being served poolside, at the bar and outdoor fire pits and as self-serve “s’more-gasbords” and for children’s “cooking” demos by hoteliers and and restaurateurs – all in celebration of National S’mores Day on August 10th. Together they created more buzz for this enticing reason to dine than [...]

1. Literally get closer, sharing space. Hawa Sidibe’s hair salon is inside the Great American Laundromat in the Bronx. Medical office buildings, filled with all kinds of medical professionals, aren’t new yet increasingly more kinds of complementary  businesses are also becoming bigger customer magnets by being more conveniently co-located for their mutual market of clients. [...]

Sell more and feel good doing it by “doubling up to do good” like these companies. Indistructible ball Imagine inventing a soccer ball so tough that even a lion can play with it for hours and not puncture it. Better yet imagine that kids in refugee camps can kick that “futbol” across sharp rocks, broken [...]

Start with a simple and low-cost first partnering action. From the previous posts you’ve learned the benefits of partnering, choosing a goal for a partnering action and how to find and recruit the best partners. It is easier for potential partners to agree when the risk is low. If you collaborate on a one-time or [...]

Following up on the previous post, here’s two more quick snapshots to whet your appetite for profitable partnering. Notice how all partners benefit by showing off their best work – with each other. 1. A newspaper carries a column, “Stay Well” co-written by you, a doctor, a fitness expert and a nutritionist, offering advice, upcoming [...]

Business is slower in many restaurants on Tuesday nights it is packed at one where they host Women’s’ Night Out with dim sum-style dinners so women order small dishes and share tables with friends and strangers to ask questions of beauty and health experts or to sing karoke or learn something fun like improv – [...]