Amy & Aron's

Cross-promotion is not new. If you’ve seen a fast-food outlet offering movie tickets or a car sales yard offering restaurant vouchers with the purchase of a new car, then you’re familiar with the concept. Businesses and corporations are continually thinking of ways they can work together for the betterment of their brands, together and apart. Is it something that you, too, can be doing? Read on to find out how it works.
Master your marketing materials

It’s all well and good to link arms with another business, but will anyone know about it, other than you and the other company? This is where branded promotional products come in.

Both businesses can share the cost of a product – like a branded coffee mug, for example – and these can be given away to increase brand awareness of your cross-promotional partnership. Share the cost, share the rewards. It’s a win-win situation.
Research, research, research

Did we say it enough times? Do your research. Setting up a cross-promotional partnership requires an immense amount of trust, so don’t rush the process. It’s also essential that you find a company that has something that complements your product, rather than detracts from it or ends up in direct competition with it.

Fortunately, the digital world has made researching other companies easier than ever before. Their business records, websites, and social media accounts are all available at the click of a button.
Date a while

Get to know the business before you skip straight to marriage. Date a while, find out their morals, what they stand for, how they operate, and where they source their products. Make sure it’s a match made in heaven before you start spending thousands of dollars on advertising to align your brand with theirs. It’s essential to be absolutely sure of the relationship before you jump into bed with them.
Come up with something unique

Cross-promotional partnerships used to be something for the big boys like McDonald's and Burger King. Now, small businesses are getting in on the action too. The key is to come up with something unique that will propel both you and your partner business into the limelight.

Co-producing an event is often a great place to start as it allows both businesses to share costs on something that can traditionally be expensive to organize. Joint advertisements and competitions can also bring about shared ‘buzz’ from consumers, with both businesses benefiting from the hype.

That hype can be built to monumental heights through social media, with the likes of Facebook now offering cross-promotional video content between businesses and brands.
Discounts and deals

A cross-promotional partnership can work in many ways, but one of the more common ones is with discounts and deals. You scratch their back, and they’ll scratch yours. For example, let’s say you’re in the business of selling shoes, but you don’t sell socks. You invite a sock business to work in a cross-promotional partnership with you.

Every time you sell a pair of shoes online, you offer your customers a 10% discount on socks through your partner’s business. When someone buys socks from them, they do the same for you. Discounts and deals can be a lucrative business opportunity for all.

Whether you’re a small, medium, or large enterprise, there’s plenty of value in a cross-promotional partnership. Do your homework, find a business that will work in harmony with yours, then get the ball rolling. Both you and your new promotional partner will reap many rewards.