The economic turmoil that has unfolded in recent weeks has begun to trickle down to the consumer arena. In difficult economic times, people hold onto their money, reserving it for essentials. If you run a small business, you have less revenue turnover than your larger counterparts, and you are likely to feel an economic pinch more quickly than larger competitors.

Developing a joint venture marketing strategy with one or more businesses is a great way to gain market exposure and visibility, as well as reach out to new potential clients, even during difficult economic times. This type marketing partnership is a savvy move to make because it can be a way to gain exposure without putting forth any capital.

Chances are that an economic downturn is not the time you want to be pumping large amounts of money into a new marketing campaign. But to maintain your current clients, which is your company's bread and butter - and to attract new customers, which is your company's future - marketing is necessary. A joint venture marketing strategy can be profitable without sinking into your profit margin, effective even during economic difficulties.

Shared Client Lists

One of the most basic ways to engage in a joint venture marketing partnership, which is also extremely cost effective because it has no real costs, is sharing client lists with your partners. As a successful business, you have a number of loyal clients with whom you regularly do business. The best free marketing is to share your client lists with your joint venture marketing partners as they will gain access to your loyal customers and vice versa.

Email Advertising

Email advertising is another joint venture marketing gem that goes hand in hand with shared client lists. Once you have a list of clients from your JV partners, you may not simply want to contact them out of the blue as people are bombarded with sometimes hundreds of emails a day, and a new email from an unknown company may just slip through the cracks or be filtered directly into the junk folder before the recipient ever sees it.

A more effective way of utilizing your joint venture marketing partnership is to use the emails that your partner companies are already sending out to your clients as a vehicle to advertise your company, and vice versa. Customers are much more likely to read an email from a company that they already do business with or purchase products from. These emails are also virtually guaranteed to reach the recipient and not be sent to the spam folder because the client is a repeat customer, and emails from this company have already been sent to and received by this client.

An extremely effective method for gaining exposure through your joint venture marketing partnerships is to attach an advertisement onto the end of the emails that your partners send to their clients, which advertises your company, and vice versa. This creates a win-win situation that costs nothing for either party!

All members of the joint venture marketing partnership will enjoy increased exposure via a trusted source, with absolutely no up-front costs. This type of joint venture marketing partnership is something that will be music to everyone's ears, even during these difficult economic times.