Today we are going to go back in time to third grade math class. The teacher started the lesson with a question, “What is 4 times 1?” She held up four fingers, and asked us how many. We all said, “Four!” This is not a trick question, although when I was a child, I thought it was. Then again, I also thought that adding or subtracting zero to or from any number was a waste of time as well. What do you have if you had four, and take away zero? My answer was, “You didn’t do anything. Don’t be silly.” Multiplying by one seemed to be the same waste. “If you take four fingers, and count it once, then you already did the work. Why point out you only counted it once? ” I guess I was a little too analytical in third grade. Now I’m older and wiser, and I realized why we had to learn the “1 x X = X” kind of math. It’s so that we can understand relationships.
If you are a relatively new or small company, chances are you have a small client base. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could piggy back on another company, and count its client base as your own? That would be some multiplication that you would get behind. Even my third grade self would have understood “X x 2 = 2X”. That’s where Cross Promotional Marketing come into play. Today we are going to focus on the power of doubling your audience.
Let’s start with the benefits from Cross Promotional Marketing. This is the short and sweet.
- Expands the customer base. Both your clients and their customers see the ads.
- Added credibility from a company with followers. If they are willing to work with you, why shouldn’t your potential customer?
- Potentially lower cost of advertising. It can be lower because you can shoulder it with your partner in the cross promotion.
- Added creativity. There’s no way to advertise lawn care with auto body work without getting a little creative.
A
Cross Promotional Marketing is not always mutually beneficial. Often times, one company gains a lot more than the other, and if the costs of doing this business are not aligned the right way, you could end up shouldering more cost, while the other business gains all the sales. It is important to understand the demographic of the audience that your new partner brings to the table. If I run a hair dressing establishment, it may be easier to partner with a pedicurist than a chainsaw salesman. How many of my clients need a chainsaw, versus how many of his clients need a haircut? This would probably not be the best relationship for both parties. And if you are trying to give haircuts with chainsaws…..
Sometimes, it makes sense to get a group of businesses together. Banks, insurance companies, and financial advisers often times make good brand partners. Most concert series have multiple businesses sharing the costs of the venue, so all benefit. Multiplying your brand power as a group sometimes makes sense. 3x, 4x, etc. The problem can arise if there are too many partners, and your message gets muted by all of the other brands involved.
Cross Promotion can liven up your marketing strategy, and if done correctly, can really benefit your customer base in some incredible ways. It can show that you care about your customers outside of just your establishment, and that you want them to get the best deal everywhere. The pitfalls typically cannot hurt your clients or customers at all, but you can end up taking it on the chin, if you are not aware of the demographic you are trying to reach, or if your marketing campaign favors one business over another, with evenly distributed costs. The easiest way to make sure you are in the right place is to work with an advertising consultant, to make sure everything stays even.
