Licensing- Influencing the Market

A little while ago, I was walking through the cereal aisle in my neighborhood Wal-Mart Super Center. While searching through all the delectable cereals and trying to imagine which ones would make me a hero with mom and children, my eyes latched hold of a white box with a big green ogre and donkey paisted on the front. Right away the picture brought to mind a preview I had seen heralding the upcoming release of Shrek III.

"Well, isn't that precious," I thought to myself. "Shrek's ingenous marketers put their message on a General Mills cereal box." As I was thinking about my discovery, I took a few more steps and caught sight of the green ogre on a box of breakfast bars. Once I became aware of their marketing tactic, I began to notice Shrek on nearly every product aisle -even in the hair products! Next the thought came "I wonder who is paying who?"

In most cases the company with the product seeks the license so they can capitalize on the temporary popularity of a certain huge event�for example, a major motion picture. A few businesses like John Deere, in contrast, are long-term businesses. John Deere stands for basic American family values and has a whole division committed to getting the John Deere name to show up all over the place. They license the use of their brand name for books, games, tools and clothing. Frequently, they co-venture the undertaking.

Even though many large businesses are able to start gigantic licensing projects, small companies do not have the capacity. We all want to know "How do we go about using big company marketing techniques in our small enterprise?" Try these four ideas to put your brand name out there:

Locate affiliates that will refer you � Do you currently offer a referral program? If your business is concentrating on providing a component of the value chain for a number of businesses, it's likely that lots of people will cheerfully refer business to you, particularly if it reinforces your partner's product or service. Fees for referrals vary from a couple dollars, to as high as 20 percent of the sale, with 10% being the average for the majority of businesses.

Permit businesses to license and sell your products as their own � Once more, if your product provides a valuable component to the value chain, you will be able to authorize other businesses to offer your goods as their own. An illustration of adding a part to the value chain is having a company that provides ball bearings to auto manufacturers. Share a fee that is anywhere between ten and seventy-five percent of the sale depending on the kind of goods you offer.

Develop and Share supportive products that have your brand on them � As soon as you offer one product that's useful to someone else's customer base, you have the option of selling your product to the partner business' customers. For example, one of our clients offered a training CD created by an herbal supplement company as a present to customers of their health food shop.

Co-Brand new products � Generate products and services jointly with businesses in your value chain. For example, if you are a patent attorney, create an information product about intellectual property rights and then distribute it through contract manufacturers. Companies who create shampoo for animals could co-produce a particular product with a busy veterinary clinic.

How does a small company market their products like a big company? Make your brand visible all over. Hunt for chances to put your name on other products. Know who your customers are. Be aware of what they buy and the places they shop. Go to those companies and look for ways to put your brand name onto their products. Make deals and share the earnings. In the end, you'll generate a ton more cash and significantly boost your business.

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Rod Alan Richardson is dedicated to teaching people to succeed in free enterprise. He does this through his Business Training Courses. He also offers a free Business Training Newsletter