If a business wants to expand its customer base a novel way it can is by using buddy marketing. Before learning how a business can benefit from buddy marketing, it’s important to understand what buddy marketing is. Buddy marketing creates awareness about a business through a complementary business. A small business that sells sleeping bags may become buddies with a small adventure tour operator that conducts expeditions.
How is it Relevant
A business that sells sleeping bags won’t reach everyone nearby who wants to buy sleeping bags. However, those who visit its buddy adventure tour operator will learn about it. Many who are informed by the adventure sports operator will visit the sleeping bag manufacturer looking for a good deal. The buddy system works both ways. Many who visit the seller of sleeping bags will be guided to visit its buddy adventure tour operator. 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.

Social Media Blitz
Everybody uses social media which is why the buddy system serves as a force multiplier for businesses. A company can share links to its complementary buddies businesses on its social media site while its buddy can do the same for it.
On average people in India spend 3 hours online a significant amount of which is spent using social media. Clearly, social media is a crucial medium to reach new businesses and its relevance is growing each month as more people get online and on social media. Buddies can not only share links to each other’s sites on social media they can also share attractive offers for each other’s products. This will incentivise customers who visit one business to buy products from its buddy.
Buddies Become Affiliates
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.
Buddies Say Good Things about Your Business
Even when an average person spends 3 hours online, he or she still spends the remaining 14 waking hours in the real world. So while being online is important, creating a buzz about a business offline is crucial as well. This is where buddies can help each other. A buddy can spend a positive word of mouth of its buddies business and the vice versa. When consumers receive a positive word of mouth about a business from another business they trust, they’re likely to buy the products of the former.

Use People Skills to Your Advantage
Buddy marketing has other advantages that make it important to business owners. Digital marketing can be executed using the help of professionals. Hence a competitor has a good chance of success if it hires talented digital marketing professionals. On the other hand, buddy marketing demands a nuanced understanding of business and outstanding interpersonal skills which competitors may lack, especially if they’re new to an industry. This grants those who have a solid 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 succeed in doing so gain an edge.