Even as many Floridians are fleeing their homes right now to avoid Hurricane Frances, their *neighbors* in Florida and Georgia are finding a small way to support them, just as they did last month after Hurricane Charley and tropical storm Bonnie hit.

When people visit a Winn-Dixie grocery store they can help towards storm relief by "evening it up" at the checkout counter.

That is, they could round up their food bill to the next dollar, with the extra change going to the local Red Cross chapter for relief efforts.

Together, they have discovered that they can act quickly to offer extra value, convenience or other stand-out benefit.

Partnering is Cropping Up in Many Places

That’s how Applebee’s attracted more customers ­ many first-time visitors - to their family restaurants this summer, without advertising more.

That’s how T-shirt designer Tami Minatelli was able to exhibit at nine street fairs this summer without paying for her booth space.

A new manufacturer of a unique, no-stain suntan lotion paid for Tami’s booth.

Why? Because she wore their lotion and her T-shirts, with a sign above her head, describing her original painting-on-cotton method and the lotions “do no harm” guarantee.

Next to burn protection, that’s the biggest concern of people who use suntan lotions.

When WeightWatchers designed and branded several low-cal menu items for Applebee’s, followers of the WeightWatchers program (and those who were thinking of dieting) had a new reason to eat at Applebee’s.

Applebee’s customers opened up their menus and saw how appetizing a Weightwatchers meal could be.

In brief, they got introduced to products by organizations they already knew and trusted.

In fact firefighters in Toluma used the same approach to get a badly-needed but expensive equipment without asking their cash-strapped city council for a single dime.

Here’ the shape of their partnership. The manager of a Pizza Hut in a small Indiana town was approached by the volunteer fire department for donations to buy a deluge gun.

The firefighters were getting nowhere with any of the business owners they approached.

The Pizza Hut manager didn't have the authority to donate money, but he said, "Here's what I can do. We can pick a Wednesday four weeks from today. Typically I make $500 or so mid-week."

So, on that Wednesday, after we sell that amount, every dollar that comes in the front door I'll split with you.

So if you inspire enough people to get a mouth-watering pizza to help the community on that day, you can raise more money than you just asked me for.

The firefighters loved the challenge.

They hand painted banners which they asked the locally-owned supermarket and gas stations to put up on their outside walls.

They had signs and announcements printed for free by the local copy shop ­ with a bright red *donated by* credit line to the copy shop on them.

The headline on the signs and flyers read, *Eat at Pizza Hut. Save a local life.*

They visited offices complexes, even those with signs that read "No soliciting."

Who's going to kick out the volunteer fire department, right?

They went to apartment complexes, video rental outlets, grade and high schools. They put flyers and signs everywhere. And they attracted crowds wherever they went.

Once people heard about their cause, handing out flyers was like giving away candy.

They got the signs in the windows of the downtown businesses, including a McDonald's two blocks away from Pizza Hut.

They got free radio time and free newspaper coverage of their inspiring community story.

When Wednesday comes around, the place was packed, with an animated line of people out the door. They made enough money to get the deluge gun.

Pizza Hut did not pay cash donation but, instead, donated their best resource ­ pizza. They became a community center, helped a good cause, got tremendous exposure and also got people to try their food.

Most importantly ­ it was a fair partnership because everyone contributed, so participants are likely to want to work together again.

In each story you just read, organizations that serve the same kind of consumers created new opportunities for each other.

They didn’t just forge a partnership.

They crafted what I’ve come to describe as a *smart partnership”.

That means they generated more opportunity together ­ for each other - than they could have in “solo” outreach efforts.

And, they method attracted and delighted their mutual market of people.

As you can tell, any kind or size of organization can adopt this trend towards joining forces to generate more value and visibility together.

Perhaps that’s why partnering is the fastest growing - and most controversial marketing approach used today.

With the wrong partners or methods, campaigns backfire and reputations tank. Partners irritate or even alienate prospective customers and supporters.

For example, New York Mayor Bloomberg’s attempt to override other public officials with a unilateral deal to put Snapple ­ exclusively - in vending machines in city offices and schools ­ backfired. He got a barrage of bad publicity from angry local leaders.

Another example of not-so-smart partnering: American Airlines partnered with companies to plaster their advertisements on the plane’s pull-down trays. Talk about in-your-face invasive promotion.

Here’s three more snapshots of successful SmartPartnerships

1. Who knows how many people chose to stay at the Ritz Carlton during one Fall, rather than at another luxury hotel because of an added thrill, complimentary use of a brand new Mercedes during their stay?

2. Over 80 U.S. campus newspapers wrote favorably about a hip new Dutch fashion label called 50/50.

   After the years of controversy about clothiers use of sweatshops, it was the first time many of the students had seen a favorable story about clothes manufacturing.

   50/50 designs clothing from Salvation Army cast-offs.

   It shares profits with The Salvation Army whose blankets, curtains and dungarees eventually show up on racks as skirts, pants and belts, each accompanied by a flyer with Salvation Army's and 50/50’s message: people need each other and nobody should be excluded from society.

3. Targeting mothers with hectic schedules, Geoffrey, a mega-store invited local businesses to join in creating an in-store community center.

   Geoffrey sectioned off rooms that now provide a children's hair salon, portrait studio, snack bar, computer learning center and party room.

You, too, can become a bigger customer magnet. In each of these examples, natural partners, serving the same market, collaborated to adopt their unique variations of SmartPartnering to become a bigger customer magnet.

Bottom Line benefit of this trend: SmartPartnerships generate a profitable payoff for all partners because, at the very least, they can get introduced to each other's customers.

Sidebar:
14 Low-Risk Ways to Jump-Start Your First SmartPartnership.

1. Print joint promotional messages on your bills or receipts.
2. Offer a reduced price, special service, or convenience if customers buy services or products from you and your partner.

3. Hang signs or posters promoting one another on your walls, windows, or products.

4. Mention one another's benefits when you speak at local events or are interviewed by the media.

5. Show the joint use of your services and their benefit on the health of patients

6. Pool mailing lists and send out a joint promotional postcard.

7. Promote your partners' products during their slow times, and ask them to do the same for you.

8. Share inexpensive ads in local shopping papers or a nonprofit event program.

9. Give a joint interview to local media.

10. Put one another's promotional messages on Lucite stands on counters or floor stands in waiting areas.

11. Encourage your staff to mention how your partner's products can be used with yours.

12. Give your partner's product to your customers when they buy a large quantity of your product, and ask your partner to do the same.

13. Use door hangers, posters, flyers, or postcards to promote special offers for one another's products.

14. Co-produce an in-store or other event, demonstration, celebrity or revered expert.

Is partnering for you? Well, are your marketing efforts getting lost in the clutter of an over-advertised world? Then adopt the single most efficient outreach tool you'll ever find to attract and keep more consumers as appreciative customers.

The Bountiful Benefits of SmartPartnering

Act now to grow your organization faster, and:

• Get introduced to prospective customers by people they trust.

• Reach more hot prospects more frequently and credibly.

• Attract media stories that make you their top-of-mind choice.

• Provide extra value without incurring extra costs.

• Support causes in ways that attract new customers.

• Motivate more people to make compelling referrals.

• Keep your organization on the cutting edge.

• Stabilize your business during slow times.

• Inspire increased per-customer buying.

• Become more profitable without working more.

Her clients are as diverse as Sony, Nomura Securities, National Renewable Energy Labs, Pfizer, Hewlett Packard, and Ringling Brothers. As David Rockefeller Jr. said after hearing Kare speak, "She will forever change how you see yourself and your world."

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