Co-marketing is a channel of marketing that takes advantage of the symbiotic nature of products, services, and businesses, and harnesses their brand power to produce a partnership which gives the individual businesses a greater audience while sharing their marketing resources. Brands that complement each other can take advantage of this exciting form of publicity to boost their own marketing.
Here are several examples of how you can use co-marketing effectively so that you and your partners can produce win-win business results.
1. Co-produce a newsletter
When producing a newsletter together, focus on areas of mutual interest to the readers. This gives your readers a broader perspective and more interesting articles to enjoy unlike just having a newsletter talking about a single company. A good example is a hotel and boat rental company co-producing a newsletter that talks about the local tourist attractions.
2. Cross-promote your businesses on social media
Social media is a powerful tool and if two companies have an established media presence, they can then leverage their partners’ social media followers to increase their exposure to new customers.
Examples of how to use co-marketing effectively on social media includes creating different and creative messages that relate to your partner to promote their brand or shine a light on an activity they are doing.
A good example is a partnership between St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a non-profit and Red Frog Events. The hospital posts a shout out to Red Frog Events, thanking them for contributing to their new therapy wing while Red Frog Events posts a tweet touting the opening of a new therapy wing at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Red Frog Events benefits from goodwill generated by taking part in a worthy cause while St Jude Children’s Hospital gets exposed to potential donors.
3. Co-sponsor a good cause
By doing this, you will be able bring more attention to a cause you support. And both businesses will benefit by getting the attention of potential clients who also care about the cause.
A good example is a “donate and dine” arrangement with your local blood bank. A restaurant can organize a blood drive, with a blood mobile in your parking lot. As a thank you to donors, you can provide a free dessert or appetizer when they come in to eat afterward donating. This draws more people to the cause while exposing them to your business and its involvement.
4. Structure cross specials
Other examples of how to use co-marketing effectively include having your companies using each other products during sales. This will expand your customer base to uncharted territory and you can split the costs with your partner. An example is having your co-marketing partner reward their customers with your products or services, this will lead to more referrals and their customers will become your potential customers.
5. Use each other’s assets
This is one easy way of taking advantage of your partner’s resources. Examples of how to use co-marketing effectively by using each other’s assets include having a pop-up store in a retail outlet where you can market your products. Offer free samples and engage with clients, and you will be able to leverage the brand power of the retail store and the trust and loyalty it has created with its customers to acquire more clients for your business.
You can also share your media space where you can talk about each other in newspaper articles, mentioning each other’s strengths and achievements. Having another business or company talking about you shows people that you are a strong brand with a solid reputation.
