Celebrating all things collaboration - why “Dancing on Other People’s Dance Floors” is good for business

Curious about how collaborations can take your brand to the next level? Retail Revealed sits down with PR expert Pippa Goulden, founder of The PR Set, to explore why partnerships are a powerful tool for growth. From strategic collaborations to media buzz, Pippa knows exactly how small businesses can cut through the noise and build a brand that customers trust.

Passionate about making PR accessible and actionable, Pippa helps entrepreneurs and innovators take control of their brand story—whether through her DIY PR membership or 1-2-1 consultancy. She gives businesses the confidence and know-how to secure press, drive sales, and fuel long-term success.

 

Reframing PR

Firstly, let’s reframe what you think PR is. Lots of people think PR is simply about press coverage, but it’s so much more than that.  It’s about getting third party endorsement for your business (for free); someone else using their platform to tell their audience about you. That might be a journalist writing about you in a magazine or an interview with you in a newspaper, but it might also be a podcaster inviting you on to their podcast, an events company giving you the stage to speak on, or another small business talking about you to their audience.  It’s getting the right people talking about you on the right platforms in front of the right audience. It’s that recommendation that’s so powerful for your business and helps you to build a trusted, recognised brand.

One of my favourite ways to do this for small businesses is through collaborations, especially for small business owners where there are so many moving parts, limited budgets and things to juggle.

Collaborations come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, and the amount of effort they require depends on the type of collaboration you’re doing. From creating exclusive ranges (lots of work!) to shoots and events to Insta lives (much less work) – there are so many ways you can team up with another business.

 

But why bother in the first place?

My friend Lucy from The Scale Up Collective calls it “Dancing on Other People’s Dance Floors” and I think this sums it up perfectly.  Collaborations help you:

• Tap into another brand’s community while giving you fresh content to share with yours.
• Put a face to your brand and step out from behind the shadows (important for both service and product businesses).
• Position yourself as an industry expert, building trust and authority and show you know what you’re talking about.
• Push yourself out of your comfort zone and experiment with things you wouldn’t necessarily do alone, for example new types of social media content, events, deep diving into your subject area, new ranges – there are so many opportunities!
• Open you up to new audiences that you wouldn’t reach in your Insta bubble.
• Drive revenue through, for example ticketed events, courses, product ranges; the world’s your oyster.

 

Choosing the right dance floors

But how do you know which collaborations to go for and which to avoid? I always advise to think strategically and don’t just jump into any old partnership.  Ask a few questions first:

• Do they have an audience that you can tap into?
• Are they aligned with you in ways that mean you’ll be able to work together?
• Will the partnership be balanced? (if one of you is getting much more out of it than the other then it’s unlikely to work). 
• Does it make sense to your audience?

You’re often wise to trust your gut instinct when it comes to working with another partner, you need to make sure you get out as much as you put into these opportunities.

I also advise drawing up an agreement at the outset, so that all parties know where they stand and what’s expected of them – it’s much easier to have the awkward conversations at the beginning than getting into trouble too far down the line.

 

Finding Partners

So how do you find the right people and brands to collaborate with?  You need to do your research; social media and magazines can be a great way of finding new brands – or reach out to people you know and brainstorm different ways you can work together. I always recommend starting small when it comes to collaborations and build from there – check you like working together, check that you’ll both show up in the way you’ve agreed, check it works for both your audiences.

Don’t wait to be asked! You need to be proactive. People aren’t thinking about your business in the same way that you are. In my experience we overthink these things and worry about things that might not even happen. You won’t know until you ask the question. Get comfortable with getting uncomfortable and putting yourself out there. It’s how you get results. 

 

Your Collaboration Challenge

So my challenge to you is to think of five people or brands that you’d love to collaborate with – the ones that you’ve had on your radar for a while but haven’t got round to asking yet (or have stopped yourself from asking) and reach out. See what they say. What’s the worst thing that can happen? They say no. That’s fine, you just move on to the next thing. But just imagine what could happen if they say yes. Why don’t you find out? 

Want to learn more or work with Pippa? Check out her website here!