How Two Businesses Formed A Strategic Partnership To Engage Their Customers
What we want now, more than ever, is to feel connected. We don’t want passive entertainment, we want personal engagement.
During a time of physical distancing, we need social engagement. We want to be seen, heard, acknowledged and loved. Through my performances of virtual magic shows for companies across the globe, I’ve come to clearly see that the real impact I am having is helping communities come together. Just take a look at the LinkedIn post to the right.
The reason I’ve been able to pivot my business is because I was able to change my mindset. You’ve heard it said that a crisis can also be a time of opportunity for a business. A major factor is the mindset of the business owner.
Once a business owner can perceive their situation from a different perspective, the rest falls into place. Along with “changing your mental model,” the article from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania describes these steps as key to finding (or creating) the opportunities in any crisis:
Step up your digital transformation and invest in infrastructure
Identify new business opportunities generated by the crisis
Speed up the switch to a network orchestrator model
Smart businesses owners know that while this may not be a time to sell and reap profits, it is a prime time to give and support their communities. And now is a time to build your audience. That’s where the “network orchestrator model” comes in. As the authors explain further:
You cannot succeed by competing company-against-company. You must focus on network-against-network competition and leverage your networks.
So how can a virtual magic show help you leverage your networks? Here is an awesome business example:
Two weeks ago I get a call from Michael Slone. Michael, along with his brother, Louis, own and operate Slone Brothers Furniture. Michael attended another virtual magic show that I had presented for a local gym franchise that was looking for ways to engage their members who were doing virtual workouts from home.
Michael loved the show I presented and wanted to do it for his clients. We discussed how he would promote the show and invite his mailing list and social media followers. Everything was perfect, but for the complete package I provided, including custom-branded magic tricks featuring the business name, Michael needed to find someone to partner with.
The next day Michael called to tell me he found the perfect partner. One of the most popular furniture vendors in their showroom is the brand Stressless. This company designs furniture that’s beautiful and amazingly comfortable. Michael decided to partner with them to hire me to entertain their customers. Not only that, but he decided to give away one of their awesome chairs to a lucky customers who would attend the virtual magic show.
By connecting with another business, both organizations were able to benefit. Slone Brothers Furniture gave their mailing list and social media followers an awesome experience. The people who showed up loved seeing many of their neighbors who were also customers. People got to see each other, wave hello, and over a dozen of them got to participate directly as part of the magic show.
At the end of the show, I received the following video from Slone Brothers Furniture:
Smart business owners are using this as a tactical time to reach out to their customers and clients. They’re using this as a time to create engaging customer experiences that would have never happened before. A furniture store teaming up with a furniture manufacturer to treat their clients to a magic show? What a creative idea that helps everyone succeed.
Smart businesses and organizations are partnering together and leveraging the power of their networks to make their world, and their customers’ worlds better.
Want to partner with me to create magic for your business? Get in touch and we’ll make it happen!
