No matter what business you’re in, the goal is to gain more customers and more sales. The shortcut to both is cross-promotion. Let’s walk through the dos and don’ts of this powerful marketing strategy – and start multiplying your market share.
First of all, what is cross-promotion?
In this marketing practice, your company partners with another with the goal of promoting each other. Don’t confuse it with influencer marketing or sponsorship – generally, sponsorships have one party profit from the resources of the other. On the other hand, cross-promotion offers the parties mutual benefits.
When done effectively, both companies can expect:
- Expanded audience awareness,
- Validated social proof, and
- Additional assets.
And, all of these advantages are needed for any business to expand. But, how do you make sure your cross-promotion is successful?
In short, both parties have to use their strengths to give potential customers something unique.
Creative Tips for Cross-Promotion
Consumers are flooded with advertisements and offers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
After a while, people start tuning it all out. For that reason, your cross-promotion needs to be interesting and disruptive to grab their attention.
Next, I’ll illustrate some approaches you can use and tell you why they work. That being said, your creativity will be critical to adapting them to work for your business.
Put Your Product in THEIR Store
One of the easiest ways to cross-promote is to offer your product or service in another physical location – or vice versa.
The first reason this works is that immediately, more eyes are on your product or service. Second, it means convenience for the consumer.
A prime example of this is large grocery stores carrying locally-made foods. The smaller business gets more exposure and then, the big chain features a special item no one else carries. Also, shoppers get access to the item at the same place where they buy the rest of their groceries.
EVERYBODY WINS!
And when everyone feels like they’ve won, THAT is the indication of great cross promotion – which brings us to the next strategy:
Help Each Other’s Customers Out
In the same way that the previous concept is about consumer convenience, this one is about providing excellent customer service.
The goal here is to improve the customer experience – at your partner’s business.
Recently, Uber and Spotify employed this strategy perfectly. Through the collaboration, Spotify and Uber invited riders to create custom playlists. Then, customers could listen to their favorite music while using the ridesharing service.
As a result, riding with Uber was more comfortable and Spotify has more users.
SOLVING PEOPLE’S PROBLEMS WILL ALWAYS TRANSLATE INTO MORE MONEY.
Cross-promotion is just a way to facilitate that.
Still, I have one more tip for you to get you thinking.
Make an Event of It!
Lastly, linking your brand to events is an excellent way to cross-promote. Consider festivals, sports events, holidays, etc. It encourages people to engage with your brand, which promotes goodwill for all the companies participating.
REMEMBER, MARKETING IS ABOUT OMNIPRESENCE.
We buy from people we know and like, so you need to get your name out there. And, it is even better to do so while associating yourself with good times.
That means your partners and you will have to stay current and get involved – which you should be doing, anyway.
But before you take any of these steps, I want to warn you of the mistakes most people make with cross-promotion.
Use this valuable tool and avoid common mistakes …
and the market is your oyster!
Common Cross-Promotion Mistakes
It is always exciting when you are presented with the opportunity to cross-promote. However, you can’t just jump into anything, because it could majorly backfire. →
To protect your company and reputation, be sure to take the following precautions.
Cross-Promote with Parallel Businesses ONLY!
I know it’s tempting to work with a huge corporation and have access to its massive audience. But does it make sense?
Think about if you saw Coca-Cola try to cross-promote with Honda. Selling cars and soda are two different things, so the effort feels forced.
Customers will pick up on that, and the cross-promotion ends up being a waste of time. Simply put, it’s confusing. In contrast, Coca-Cola has had a profitable partnership with McDonald’s for years because they are in the same industry.
When choosing partners, keep your long-term goals in mind. This applies to my next piece of advice, as well.
Know Who Your Associates Are
There is nothing worse than being guilty by association. For this reason, do your homework on the people and companies you are considering doing any work with.
UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS A LESSON I HAD TO LEARN THE HARD WAY.
Not only can it give you a bad rap with the general public, but iffy colleagues will be the first to throw you under the bus. Trust me, there is no such thing as too much due diligence.
Make Decisions Based on Stats
Yes, the primary aim of cross-promotion is to increase your brand awareness. Despite that, you must measure the success of your efforts.
OTHERWISE, YOU WILL BE WASTING YOUR TIME WITH THE WRONG PARTNER OR WITH AN INEFFECTIVE STRATEGY.
I suggest getting numbers on anything you can, even if you don’t know how it applies at first. Eventually, all these little pieces of information will paint a big picture of what is going on. From there, you can fine-tune your cross-promotion into incredible returns.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, cross-promotion is the master key to dominating your market. It figuratively allows you to walk into other companies’ audiences and introduce yourself.
Use this valuable tool and avoid common mistakes … and the market is your oyster!
