| Even the most time-pressed
business owner can attract more customers with less effort through
the right cross-promotions. Why? Because when you join forces with
other credible people who also reach your market you can reach your
customers more efficiently, credibly and memorably with the right
offers and services.
To stand out from their competition in a crowded advertising marketplace,
businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies are enthusiastically
adopting this nimble approach to "outmarket" bigger competitors.
Their cross-promotions include "bundled" offerings, joint
media appearances and events, and unconventional cause-related marketing.
It might also include collaboratively produced how-to's and other
resource booklets and videos, co-branding, coop advertising, and
shared space.
Cross-promotion has the potential for a big marketing payoff because
partners can successfully expand through each other's customer base.
They can gain an inexpensive and credible introduction to more of
their kind of customer more effectively than with the traditional
"solo" methods of networking, advertising, or public relations.
Here are some low-risk and high-opportunity ways to jump-start
your first cross-promotion:
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- Print joint promotional messages on your receipts.
- Offer a reduced price, special service, or convenience if customers
buy products from you and your partner.
- Hang signs or posters promoting one another on your walls,
windows, or products.
- Mention one another's benefits when you speak at local events
or are interviewed by the media.
- Drop one another's flyers in shopping bags.
- Pool mailing lists and send out a joint promotional postcard.
- Share inexpensive ads in local shopping papers or a nonprofit
event program.
- Give a joint interview to local media.
- Give your partner's product to your customers when they buy
a large quantity of your product, and ask your partner to do the
same.
- Use door hangers, posters, flyers, or postcards to promote
special offers for each other's products.
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Here are some cross-promotion
strategies that can really help your company stand out:
- Co-produce special promotions you could not afford by yourself.
Hire local community college broadcasting/cable TV students to
produce a "how to use" video and/or audio tape that
involves you and your partner's products.
- Have a contest, with the prizes contributed by your partners.
For the next contest, roles change, and you contribute your product
or service as a prize for a partner's contest.
- Give customers a free product or service from a participating
partner when they buy something that month from all of the partners
listed in an ad or on a promotional postcard.
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Kare Anderson is the founder of the Say It Better
Center, located in Sausalito, CA. She can be reached via email at
kare@sayitbetter.com.
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