If you work as tour guide in the lively Berlin, it is important to build up proper relations to local businesses to be able to offer your clients the best experience. Suppose joining forces with local businesses is the line you walk. In that case, you may aid them in making their experience the best it can be and, in turn, also introduce and promote your own experience to visitors at a fraction of the cost. For this reason, in this blog post we will discuss some great ways to connect with a local businesses in Berlin if you were a Berlin tour guide yourself.
1. Research Local Businesses
First, carry out research and discern local businesses that cater to the interests and specifications of your tour groups. Known for history, art, culture and culinary scene, Berlin is famous and a great opportunity to choose attractions, restaurants, galleries and museums which support your tour themes. List down potential partners and get info of their offerings, location, contact details, etc., also check if they have any special programs or events going on.
2. Visit and Establish Personal Relationships
After sending out the list of potential partnerships, go see the businesses there in person. It will enable you to evaluate if they can be on your tours or create personal relationships. State what you want to discuss, say how long you will be in the city and how long you are spending there, and ask if you might be able to meet up and collaborate in the future. You should be ready to go into the sales pitch of why partnering with them will be mutually beneficial to both parties. A must for building the successful partnerships is building rapport and trust with the local business owners.
2.1. Offer Mutual Benefits
In such a case, a reason to emphasize collaboration with local businesses is a mutual benefit of collaboration. An instance of this is, give to introduce your tour groups to their own establishment and create your potential customers. Instead, offer your tour clients commitment of special discounts or exclusive experiences. If your business is some kind of service, then this provides both parties to attract new clientele and enhance its reputation.
3. Cross-Promotion
Another tip is to promote mutually on each other’s sites. Make brochures or flyers with partner establishments describing what they do and how it goes with your tours. Put these materials on your tours or leave them at partner locations. Other than this, use your online presence to display and advertise nearby businesses on your site, blog, or social media networks and request that they do the same for you. Cross promos help get your tour more visibility and attract more customers to your local partners’ business.
4. Attend local business events and attend the business community and networking.
The way to connect into the Berlin business community, is to participate in local business events and networking opportunities. Go to attend trade shows, conferences, or chamber of commerce meetings to meet potential collaborators. Networking events foster personal connections, exchange of ideas, and can be used to explore partnership possibilities. Also, remember to bring your business cards and be open to this new possibility.
5. Seek Recommendations from Clients
Feedback and recommendations from your clients can be impressive resources when trying to reach out to local businesses. Ask your satisfied clients to post good reviews for tours and partner businesses they participated in both respectively. These reviews are testimonials and referrals for future clients and can help keeping good relationship with previous partners.
6. Maintain and Nurture Relationships
Once you’ve been able to connect with local businesses, you need to keep that connection up. Keep in touch with them, give feedback about their clients’ experiences, and express your appreciation to them of their contribution. An alternative to this idea would be to develop special events specifically for your partners or even get them into joining your tours. When you are continuously making an efforts to develop these relationships, you stay connected with local business community and form long term partnership in such network.
Finally, there is no doubt that doing business with local businesses is part of ensuring that your clients experience the extraordinary while you’re in Berlin as a tour guide. The connections between you (local business) and them (foreign business) that work together in the best interest of both parties can be created by researching, visiting, establishing personal relationships, doing cross promotion, attending business events, and using client referrals, and nurturing the existing partnerships. These strategies are under your belt and you are just on your way to making unforgettable Berlin tours and helping the whole city with its economy.
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