Effective cross-promotion is a great way for even the busiest of business owners to bring in more customers. The simple fact is that when you team up with other trustworthy businesses that also reach your target market, you will be able to access your customers far more efficiently and impressively as long as you utilize the appropriate services and offers.
Remember though, your goal is to stand apart from the competition. In today's overly packed advertising arena, businesses are eagerly embracing the maneuver of surpassing their bigger competitors with cross-promotions, such as videos, co-op advertising, joint events and media appearances and bundled products/services.
By using cross-promotion, partners can expand their marketing base through each other's resources, so you can look at it as a very cost-effective marketing tool for advertising, PR and networking. Also, each party will be introduced to more potential customers.
Here are some suggestions for lucrative cross-promotions:
- Print joint marketing messages on receipts and invoices.
- Extend offers of special rates and services for customers who buy from you and/or your partner.
- Cross-promote each other on your websites.
- Talk about the benefits of each other's companies during any media interviews or event appearances.
- Hang cross-promotion signs on the walls of your premises.
- Mail joint promotion postcards and pool your mailing lists.
- Try to secure a joint interview with the local media.
- If a customer buys a sizeable quantity of your products, hand out samples of each other's product.
- Use posters and flyers to cross-promote any special offers.
- Share the cost of advertising in local papers.
You can make your business even more notable by implementing some of these cross-promotion approaches:
- Hire co-op broadcast students to help you co-produce special promotions. These could be "how-to" videos or DVDs about you and your partner's products/services.
- Hold contests with prizes that you and your partner will contribute on an alternating basis. One contest should feature your products/services and the next your partner's.
- If you run a promotion or ad listing several partners, provide your customers with a free product/service from each participating partner when they purchase something in that particular month.
If you would like more ideas or information on cross-promotion, please contact me at 905-633-6313 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
