If you have ever wondered how brands work together to further their reach respectively, you should read up on some practices. First of all, partnerships are something brands do all the time. It’s an equal approach to sharing data, hosting each other’s brands and working together on marketing campaigns. This is why Nike works with Amazon, even though it now sells its own products on its own website. Amazon allows Nike to give it exclusive products when they release, in return for using its massive appeal when it comes to marketing across its huge user base. So when it comes to doing this, how should a business target the third site and which ones should you favor for your own business?
The best or correct third-site?
The first question that pops into mind is, should you go with the best third-site or the correct one? There are certain issues with wholesalers such as Amazon and eBay, in the form of fake reviews. Lots of false reviews are placed on products to give them either a really good or really bad rating. This has brought Amazon into disrepute and many believe the brand has a responsibility to get rid of these reviews and have a better vetting system.
Although Amazon might be the largest distributor in the world, it might not be the correct one for you. You have to admit, being surrounded by fake reviews, faulty products made by slave labor, and your product being sold alongside used and refurbished products, is not always a good look for a premium brand.
Allowing data sharing
So, you’ve chosen a website you do want to communicate with. For example, you are a private car hire company. You have your own website and hiring system but you want to expand your reach by working with a service website that gives customers an array of private car hire options. Using an API, you can take requests for information from a third site and then send the information from your website, without giving it access to your data. But what is an API?
Think of it as a waiter, it takes an order from a customer outside of the kitchen, your waiter goes to the kitchen, gives the order and then is returned to the table with the food.
The benefits
So why would you want to share data with a business, without actually giving access to your database? The point is to spread your brand as far as possible. Maybe a person in Germany, wants to hire a car in your American city while on holiday. The tourist may not know of your brand, but they may search for ‘car hire in ….’ and a service company can make your brand one of the options to choose from. It’s easy, affordable and it makes sense.
Your business could do so much better if it could share data with countless amounts of service companies. But, always vet them, make sure your API is solid and cannot be manipulated.
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