Cross Promotion #1:
Encourage multiple sales with free gifts.
Benefits: Repeat business and customer satisfaction.
How to do it: Offer a free gift with the purchase of a "bundled' collection of your services or products. Exchange your services or products with your cross-promotional partner -- you offer your partner's product or service as the free gift to your customers, and your partner's customers receive your product or service.
Examples: A cookware store's fun kitchen gadget is the free gift offered by a bookstore when customers purchase a collection of cookbooks. A ten-dollar dry cleaning gift certificate accompanies the new suit purchased from a clothier.
Cross-Promotion #2:
Co-sponsor an event with partners reaching the same market.
Benefits: Advertising and publicity at reduced cost, contribution to your community, stronger appreciation and loyalty from guests, and contact with potential guests.
How to do it: Find cross-promotional partners reaching the same market. Share costs for production and marketing of an event that naturally combines the interests of the cross-promotional partners and the market you both want to reach.
Examples: A hospital and health club sponsor a "Women's Wellness After Forty" seminar. A home security firm, insurance agency, and appliance dealer partner to sponsor a "Make Your Home Safe" demonstration event.
Special event:
Partners co-sponsor an event to create a more valuable event and to leverage their positive contact with more prospective customers while reducing their promotional overhead costs. For example, an idea-filled, fast-paced evening seminar attracts time-pressed entrepreneurs with the title "Ten Great Ideas to Reach More Customers." Promised format: Six panelists each have five minutes to describe their best two marketing tips, followed by the attendees' ballot vote for the top three tips. As ballots are being turned in and tabulated, the panel host, a radio talk show DJ who is carrying the program live -- takes questions from attendees.
Panelists are partners in the cross-promotion to target managers of mid-sized businesses as their customers. Partners include a store selling office computers, furniture, and supplies; a quick print shop; a CPA firm; a cellular phone company; an insurance firm. As attendees leave, they receive a handout with the panelists' tips, recommended reading list, and background on panelists and their companies.
Of course, attendees also receive autographed copies of the Pocket Cross-Promotion book, with inserted sheets listing ways the reader can use the partners' services and products to do their own cross-promoting. For example, the phone company partner shows how to design ads and brochures with "phone order, fax/back, and 800# features." Attendees also receive special offer coupons from the partners and a schedule of follow-up events -- because this one was so successful.
Cross-Promotion #3:
Show your best customers you appreciate them.
Benefits: Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
How to do it: Create "frequent buyer" cards that give your customers gifts when they reach certain purchase levels. Exchange your services or products with your partner -- you offer your partner's product or services as the free gift to your customers, and your partner(s)'s customers receive your product or service.
Examples: Cosmetics store customers receive manicures from a hair salon as their "frequent buyer" gift. Hair salon customers receive a bottle of body cream from the cosmetics store.
Cross-Promotion #4:
Jointly offer local companies the opportunity to buy large quantities of your products or services for their employees or customers.
Benefits: Increased sales volume and exposure to new potential customers.
How to do it: Join with a compatible partner to jointly offer quantities of your "bundled" products for them to give to their employees or customers or to community leaders. Offer reduced prices or increased service for bulk purchases. Point out how your products or services can help local companies increase employee morale, health, or home life; show your customers an added reason to buy; give community heroes genuine value from a donation.
Examples: A bookstore and local community college jointly offer a company bulk gift certificates for classes and books the company can purchase (for a quantity discount) for giving to employees or big customers and even as donations to community heroes.
Cross-Promotion #5:
Help partners use your products or services to build business.
Benefits: Both you and your partners have a cost-effective way to offer gifts to your customers -- increasing customer loyalty -- and a free way to get your prospects to experience using the featured products or services.
How to do it: Offer your product as customer gifts to other local businesses that reach your "mutual market." Offer volume discounts and placement of stickers with their company name on products or materials related to your services.
Examples: A bank or insurance company gives a free financial planning consultation to new accounts. A real estate broker gives home repair kits to agents to give to home buyers.
Newsletter and Ezine Resource
Find exactly what you're looking for
|
In our quest to provide you with tools and information to help you change the way
you work and live, we've gathered a comprehensive list of newsletters on all aspects of business and life.
The benefits are all there. Click here to go there.
|
