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We all know that we are in the midst of a recession.  To put it mildly, times are tough.  Virtually every business is having a harder time making sales and increasing profits.  A lot of companies (too many, to be honest) are simply trying to survive.  Most likely, your company is also struggling a bit.  It is in your best interest to explore every possible avenue to improve your performance and help get you through this downturn. 

One business strategy that is often overlooked is cross promotion.  Cross promotion is simply teaming up with another company to help each other out.  Naturally, you do not generally want to promote one of your competitors.  But there are plenty of companies out there who either compliment your business, or who have no relation to your business at all, that you can team up with.  You can also team up with suppliers or distributors.

Here are a few simple ways to use cross promotion.

Word of Mouth

Easily the cheapest and easiest way to cross promote is by word of mouth.  Talk to another business owner and make an agreement to promote each other.  You tell your customers about the other company, and he does the same for you.

Marketing Literature

You can actually print up literature that expresses your collaboration with another company.  This can be a color brochure that is entirely devoted to the other business, or one of your own color brochures that simply explains your involvement with them.  You can include tidbits on your poster printing that tell your customers to check out the other company.  Of course, your new partner should be doing the same for you.

Added Benefits for Mutual Customers

One of the best ways to engage in cross promotion is to offer benefits to customers who visit both companies.  Recently, I helped a friend open a store in a mall.  His store was a laser tag type of attraction that targeted teenagers and youths.  There was another store in the mall that offered glow in the dark miniature golfing, which also targeted members of the same age group.  We decided to talk to the owner of the golf store and come up with a cross promotion.  We ended up offering customers half off their admission if they showed a receipt from the glow golf store.  The owner of the golf store offered a deep discount to any customer who showed a receipt from our laser attraction.  We both saw increased traffic as a result.  And, of course, we both advertised our collaboration so our customers knew about it.

Group Outings or Events

If you are really ambitious, and you have a very willing peer to work with, you can do group outings that combine your two stores.  This can be a party to which you both invite your customers, or perhaps a mutual sale on a certain date.  The key here is to adequately promote your event.  You will need to have posters printed up a few weeks in advance.  Otherwise you could end up spending the entire event just talking to the other owner.

Look into cross-promotion as a way to boost your business.  It can be a valuable way to buffer your company while you wait for conditions to improve.

Category: Branding, Marketing, Online Marketing, Print Advertising by admin