Partners with a strong following can give you credibility and lower the cost of reaching your next new customer.   But you need to be careful.

• Often you are trading out services.   You're extending to the partner's customer a discount or other value in exchange for the partner's best effort via media spending or otherwise to get the word out about your offer.

  So his ads might, for example, tout a gift certificate from you to all who stop by his store and make a qualifying purchase.   And you give him the gift certificate at a discount in trade for his media mentions in the hope that this brings new customers to you.

Cwi Associates has extensive data useful in helping you pick partners. We can help you answer these among other key questions:

• How big is their customer base and how many of their customers fall within your target market?

• Will their ad program in support of the promotion cut through the ad clutter effectively?

Of greater interest is simply their ability to deliver the cross promotion and the mechanics and control of coupons and other components so the promotion isn't abused.   The Internet can be used to deliver coupons with controls that minimize abuse.

Your partner's front line staff have no stake in helping you even if senior management does.   So don't assume they will diligently hand out coupons or otherwise get the word out.  Consider taking control of the "controllables".  Focus, for example, on how you can use direct mail and the Internet.

• Can you get access to their customer files for a joint effort [e-mail or direct mail] that is "Exclusively for our preferred customers."   "Buy X and get Y at special offer rates". Buy it now at this web site or go there for more information.

Ask yourself how the partner relationship can be used as part of the overall sales and marketing process. Perhaps that gift certificate can be used to close the sale (Buy Today and Get).  Perhaps you can use it as part of your customer loyalty program  (Thanks For Being A Great Customer: Here's your free gift).   And don't forget lead generation  (Enter To Win).

• We can help you to size up the partner and negotiate the deal.

• We can evaluate their program and improve it.

• We can assign a value to their proposed media support.

• We can act as an independent third party to create project files and merge customer files to find new customers.