Digital marketing is important for the success of every business and vital to the success of a small business. Digital marketing allows a small business to reach a wide audience that is likely to buy its products. Most importantly it does so at a considerably lower cost compared to traditional media.

The influence of digital marketing in creating successful brands is immense. No new brand can expect to succeed without a digital marketing strategy. Search engines which were conceived to make the sites more accessible, now earn most of their revenues from advertising. The most popular search engine in the world earns over 70% of its revenues from advertising. Clearly, digital marketing is not only important it is effective as well. For a small business, digital marketing used in tandem with buddy marketing can be even more effective.

What is Buddy Marketing  

A thoughtful and well executed digital marketing campaign can generate tremendous business, but most businesses know this. However fewer know the importance of buddy marketing. Buddy marketing allows a business to create awareness of its products and services through a business that complements its own. Consider the case of a small business that specializes in creating unique prints on t-shirts. Such a business will benefit from buddy marketing when a t-shirt seller promotes its printing business. The purpose of buddy marketing is to reach consumers who would be interested in one's products but aren’t part of the existing base of customers.

Buddies Help Each Other 

A business that buddies with another cannot only promote its own business but also that of its buddy. This means a company that creates unique prints on t-shirts can recommend the seller of t-shirts while the t-shirt seller does the same. Both benefit because they gain access to customers they couldn’t without a buddy marketing system. In developed countries 15 percent of small businesses use some form of buddy marketing.

Using buddy marketing, both business can offer shared deals on each other’s social media accounts and share links, they may also share links to each other’s sites on their sites

Earn Commissions from Each Other

A sharp way to encourage sales using buddy marketing is by allowing buddy companies to earn commissions on sales using affiliate links. A business that wants to attract customers can share affiliate links allowing any purchase made using the link to earn a commission for its buddy.  This is an effective way to incentivise other companies to display affiliate links on their sites.

An advantage of affiliate links over digital advertising is commissions are paid only when purchases are completed. Estimates reveal that 81% of brands globally use affiliate marketing of which a significant per cent consists of buddy marketing. Importantly the global affiliate marketing conversion rate is 1%, however, when links are shared on buddy sites, this percentage rises considerably.

Buddy Marketing Forges Partnerships with Multiple Business 

Small companies with modest marketing budgets benefit through buddy marketing because they can pool marketing budgets to reach a wider audience. A single company can become buddies with a number of other companies. Such collaboration allows them to share expenses while reaching each other’s customers.

Buddy marketing doesn’t demand the businesses concerned to be in close proximity. Depending on their business, they may not even be in the same city or state. Businesses that have buddy marketing relationships may co-sponsor events where they meet face to face if they haven’t before. This helps cement ties and builds relationships that may further bear fruit in the future.

Create a Positive Word of Mouth 

Even though the volume of business transacted online continues to grow, there is considerable value in word of mouth. A good buddy marketing network can drive consumers to a business. When customers receive positive word of mouth about another company from a trusted seller, they are more likely to try its products or services. Nearly 85 per cent of small businesses generate business using word of mouth; hence a positive word of mouth is crucial to the success of small businesses. When a small business uses buddy marketing well, it joins an exclusive group of small businesses which gives it an advantage over its competition.

Your Buddies Have Your Back 

A successful digital marketing campaign can drive traffic to a site and grow sales. For a small business, a digital marketing campaign can be a force multiplier because it allows reaching a large number of prospects at a low cost. When synchronised with buddy marketing, digital marketing can be even more powerful. This is because 5 digital marketing campaigns that promote 5 buddy companies drive traffic consisting of customers of each, to other’s sites. Not only is this affordable but it attracts far more people than is possible with a single digital marketing campaign.

Buddy marketing has other advantages that make it important to business owners. Digital marketing can be executed using the help of professionals. This means competitors have a good chance of success if they hire talented digital marketing professionals. On the other hand, buddy marketing demands a more nuanced understanding of business and superior interpersonal skills which competitors may lack. This grants those who have an understanding of their business and an ability to persuade others to join in a buddy marketing relationship an advantage. When others fail in creating buddy marketing schemes, those who can gain an edge.

Buddy marketing isn’t entirely distinct from digital marketing; however, it affords an advantage to small businesses by allowing 2 or more of them to pool resources for the benefit of each. This is why every small business should explore buddy marketing.