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Cross-Promotion: Definition, Benefits, Tips & Ideas!

If you own a business, your mantra is probably “reach more, sell more, earn more.” You must constantly be looking for ways to get your product or service in front of more eyeballs.

But…that’s easier said than done because marketing is expensive, and anyone who runs a business knows it. 🙂

That’s exactly why we wrote this blog – to tell you about a marketing strategy that doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket and yet gives you many benefits. MANY.

We’re talking about Cross-Promotion – the perfect way to generate more exposure and increase your sales – without having to go all out and investing a lot.

Remember when Google named its new Android OS ‘KitKat’? In turn, Nestle created Kit Kat bars in the shape of Google’s Android mascot. 

That, in short, is what cross-promotion is – bringing together two separate businesses to create a joint marketing initiative. As they say, two heads are always, always better than one.

No, you don’t need to own a million-dollar company like Google & Nestle to use cross-promotion. ANY business can partner up with another business and expand its reach – all you need to do is find the right partners.

So, how do you start a cross-promotional partnership? How do you find the right partner? Luckily, we have got all the answers you need! Let’s start with understanding what cross-promotion exactly is.

What is Cross-Promotion? (Definition)

Remember the time when you were booking flight tickets, and the website offered you a discount if you used a particular credit card to pay for the ticket? That’s cross-promotion.

To put it very, very simply – cross-promotion is a marketing tactic where you join forces with another company that sells products or services that complement your products or services.

Basically, you use your partner’s channels to promote your product, and you allow them to use yours to market theirs. Teaming up is less expensive, more efficient, and generates more exposure.

For example, a sporting goods store can collaborate with a fitness center, or a catering service can collaborate with an event management company – the possibilities are infinite!

Want to know some more reasons why cross-promotion is the coolest marketing strategy out there? Read on!

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Reasons Why Cross-Promotion is a Great Marketing Strategy

1. Boosts Your Reach

Let’s admit it – getting the word out there about your business takes a lot of work.

Good news: you don’t have to do all that work alone. When you join forces with another business, you can tap into new pools of audience quicker than you’d be able to on your own. 

How? Well, when you partner up with related businesses, it exposes your product or services to your partner’s customer base as well. That means you reach more people, and your chances of getting new leads increase!

Read more: Create Repeat Customers: Tactics and Tips

2. Builds Trust & Credibility

When you team up with another company, that company naturally gets associated with your products or services, right?

Now since that company is respected and trusted by its customer base, their customers start trusting your product or service too – because it gives an impression that the company is personally vouching for you. 

This way, you get a credible introduction to a new audience – something which isn’t easy when you’re using traditional methods of advertising!

3. Really, Really Cost-Effective

Cross-promotion is undoubtedly much less expensive than traditional methods of advertising. 

Most of the time, cross-promotion doesn’t cost you anything but your time. Your partner advertises the products for you – and you return the favor. It’s as simple as that. 

Also, when you cross-promote each other’s business, you can share a common pool of resources, combine your marketing efforts and budgets.

You won’t have to run the show alone, and you can just divide the costs between you and the partner!

Yes, cross-promotion gives you an abundance of benefits. But, you can only reap all these benefits if you do it the right way. So, let’s break down some things you need to know to strike cross-promotion success.

Three Major Things You Need to Know to Get The Most Out of Cross Promotion

1. Compliment, Not Compete

Please don’t cross-promote with a business that is offering the same product/service as your company. This won’t just be a waste of time, but it could also backfire, and you could potentially lose customers in the process. 

In short, you need to team up with a company that complements, rather than competes, with your company.

For example, let’s say you want to promote your catering business. You would do really great if you team up with an event management company.

However, it won’t make any sense to team up with another catering company, as they compete with you directly!

Read more: What is a Flash Sale & Why it is a Good Marketing Technique?

2. Research, Research & Research

Your company’s reputation is riding on this, so you need to join forces with a trustworthy, reliable business.

See, if you partner up with someone who isn’t reliable or doesn’t deliver quality products, you will end up diluting your own business and even damaging your reputation.

…and we know that you don’t want another business’ bad reputation to sully yours! So, before reaching out to anyone, always do a bit of homework on them.

3. Keep Things Clear From The Get-Go

You and your cross-promotion partner need to be on the same page if you want your partnership to rock. So, just like how it is with every marketing strategy, specify clear and actionable goals from the very beginning.

Be very clear about the duration of the partnership, the dollars that’ll be invested, exactly which products or services it will include, how it will be carried out, and all other crucial details.

The more specific the plan, the better your cross-promotion is going to be!

Now that you’re well familiar with the world of cross-promotion, let’s dig into some amazing ways to use cross-promotion to grow your business.

Some Really Cool Cross Promotion Ideas That Work

1. Host a Charitable Event

People love businesses that work together to support those in need. By hosting a charitable event with your cross-promotion partner, you can show people you’re more than just a money machine!

From marathons to food drives, you can organize any type of charitable event and give back to the community. As you’d be hosting this event with a partner, you can reduce a lot of expenses that accompany it! Win-win.

2. Run a Contest

Here’s another awesome cross-promotion idea: You can run a social media contest where you and your partner business can offer joint prizes.

This way, you can get your business in front of their social media fans and double your reach. Also, the cost of promoting the contest would be cut in half, and yet the prizes would be more! How cool is that?

Read more: Increase Conversion Rate Using These 15 Killer Hacks!

3. Tie Up With Food & Beverages Companies

Remember Disney’s film “Lion King”? Disney partnered up with McDonald’s and included Lion King toys in McDonald’s Happy Meals. Needless to say, this was a smart move!

You can take some inspiration from Disney and tie up with food and beverage companies and promote your toys, goods, films, and anything else that fits.

4. Co-Sponsor Events

Hosting an event works, but it takes up a lot of time and money. What you can do instead is co-sponsor an event with your cross-promotion partner.

Honestly, it’s a great way to cut your event costs in half and reach out to the other company’s audience. You can even mention each other as sponsors or partners on your landing pages!

5. Send Out a Joint Newsletter

You can partner up with another business, create ONE joint newsletter and send it out to both your mailing lists. This will give you the chance to present your information to new prospective customers.

Elink.io can make this entire process even easier. Using elink, you can create and send out stunning newsletters in minutes. Oh, and you can also work on the newsletter together with your partner in real-time!

To know more about elink, click here.

Wrapping Up

In every facet of life, there’s strength in numbers – and this is exactly why cross-promotion works so well. 

No, it’s not just us who believe that – 54% of companies have stated that partnerships drive more than 20% of total company revenue.

So, if you want to get past a sales slump and expand the reach of your business, cross-promotion is the way to go. It is cost-effective and is a win-win situation for all the parties involved.

The best part? Cross-promotion is as easy as hosting a party with a friend. You get to meet more people because you get access to your friend’s network, and they get access to yours. What more could you ask for? 

We know there is a lot to digest here, so if you have any questions, just hit us up on Twitter @elink_io! ✨

Further reads:

Instagram Bio for Business: Tips and Tricks

15 Must-Have Tools for E-Commerce Business

9 Awesome Business Newsletter Templates You Must Check Out!

Top Referral Programs You Must Join!

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