Innovative Cross-Marketing Promotion

The following guest post is by Yuvi Shmul and Patricia Harriman of Play N Trade Franchise, Inc.

Successful small business don’t always need to provide unique products or services. Instead, their success is based on growing their customer base through effective marketing, and providing superior service, support and follow-up to deliver an experience that “wows” customers and keeps them coming back for more.

As Thom Tschetter, marketing consultant, has said, many times the terms “marketing” and “advertising” are used interchangeably, but they are not the same. Advertising is a paid placement in radio, TV, print, online or other media that is designed to generate leads, but does not necessarily increase sales. Marketing is the full array of advertising, grassroots campaigns to spread the word, building a culture, defining an image and developing product knowledge that results in increased sales. Marketing affects the bottom line. Cross-marketing activities allow you to extend beyond your existing customer base and reach out to other people’s customers.

Cross-marketing is not giving out a free coupon for the customer’s next visit to your store, or advertising in a different medium. Cross-marketing is a coordinated set of activities between two businesses with similar customer demographics. For example, a video game store can cross-market with a pizza parlor by advertising their store on the pizza delivery boxes, thereby reaching all of the pizza parlor’s customers.

This type of cross-marketing initiative is very effective because it extends the awareness of the video game store to a greatly expanded customer base, and the businesses can share the costs of reaching those customers. The video game store owner can buy the pizza delivery boxes on which its ads are printed, saving the pizza store owner the cost of buying the boxes, while getting the name of the video game store into the homes of the pizza parlor’s customers.

Another example of an innovative cross-marketing promotional program involves a print shop that targets small businesses and a computer repair service shop. The print shop can print business card for the computer repair shop for free. One side of the card will show the computer repair shop’s location and contact information and the other side of the card will show the print shop’s information. Every time a computer shop employee makes a service call and leaves a card behind, the print shop has reached that customer as well.

When developing a cross-marketing promotional program, it is critical to identify a company which has a customer base that shares important demographic similarities, such as age, income, and gender, but one that is not a competitor, selling the same product or service. For example, if you are the owner of a beauty salon that targets wealthy women, a cross-promotional program with a transmission shop would probably not be very effective. However, a cross-promotional program between the beauty shop and a day spa offers a great chance for success, while the transmission shop could execute successful cross-marketing programs with the video game store or the pizza parlor.

Another effective cross-marketing promotional idea is the concept of using the back of your business card for a promotional offer, such as a three-day, two-night vacation. The vacation can be subsidized by a travel agent, hotel or other type of company that has products or services sold at the destination. When you give your card out, you are leaving more than just a business card; it is a gift card with tangible value. When the customer takes advantage of the offer, your business is talked about at the vacation destination, as well as in your home town.

Executing innovative cross-marketing promotional activities that bring in customers must be backed by superior customer service and follow-up. Getting to know your customers on a first-name basis and their likes and preferences must be one of the cornerstones of your corporate culture, so that each customer experience is personal and memorable, and is spread by word of mouth. Customer recommendations are the most cost-effective and believable type of advertising there is.

Superior customer service coupled with better customer follow-up strengthens customer loyalty and retention. When you have some down time during the business day, make a point to pick up the phone and call your customers to tell them you appreciate their business, and want to make sure they were satisfied with their experience. Tell them to feel free to give you a call or send an email if they have a question or concern, or if there’s any other assistance you can provide.

Start thinking about the many different ways you can promote your business. Executing innovative cross-marketing promotional activities with surrounding small businesses, coupled with providing an excellent customer experience and timely follow-up, are simple steps that small business owners in any industry, market segment, or geographic location can take to increase their client base and boost bottom line profits.

Photos by edwardfilms and alfr3do..

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