Cross Promotion 101
As marketers, we are always looking for new ways to get more bang for our buck. Cross promotion allows two or more companies to work on a project together, doing less work for more reward. Who doesn't want that?
Cross promotion is a marketing strategy where brands or organizations partner together to expand their reach. Typically, the companies working with each other have some similarities, such as being in the same industry or having similar audiences.
Marcus Hamilton, Marketing Manager, Cabana Beach Gainesville
Cross promotion is about expanding the marketing reach of your product. It’s a broad term that can mean advertising across different mediums or even cooperating with other companies to showcase each others goods and services.
So to help get you started, we've collected some tips and tricks from Marcus Hamilton, Marketing Manager at Cabana Beach in Gainesville, FL, for creating a successful co-marketing campaign and relationship, from start to finish.
Whether you’ve done it before or are just starting to drive your heels into this concept, there are always certain “ingredients” that you’ll need to take into account:
Determining Your GOALS
Before initiating any kind of cross-promotion, you’ll need to determine and define your goals. Hold a meeting or focus group with your team or even your residents to gather information. Broaden the spectrum to not just what your goals are for this particular scenario of cross-promotion, but also for the entire leasing season and beyond. Increasing foot traffic, broadening the visibility of your brand, overcoming a particular obstacle, increasing resident retention, etc. Is there a new promo you want to push? More lead generation? An increase in social media following/engagement? Do you want to reinvent your property in some way? Once you define these specific features of your goals, it will be easier for you to develop a plan. Why? Because you will be able to effectively communicate them with your co-marketing partners.
Side note: It is one thing to TALK about goals, but you make them real by writing them down. I can personally attest that this helps me to visualize what I want to accomplish. Spell it out, then map it out.
Setting your BUDGET
Before you begin collaborative efforts with another cross-promotion partner, you need to consider what your budget will be. For example, whenever I collaborate with a night club to host our post pool party after-parties, I distribute wristbands with our property logo on them for the nightclub to use. In doing so, the nightclub saves their marketing dollars by not having to purchase wristbands, and we get our property logo on the wrists of our target market for the night (and likely well into the next day.) I make sure to budget accordingly so that I am able to work with the nightclub on their goals and are able to meet their requests. It is always a good idea to see how much you are willing to spend in order to make the co-marketing partnership a good one.
Considering Your Potential PARTNERSHIPS
Once you’ve considered your own goals, strategy and your funding, it is time to consider your cross-promotion partnerships. Here are some things I consider before reaching out or moving forward with a partnership:
Shared Audience- I always want to make sure that our property and the company I cross-promote with have an audience that we will mutually benefit from. These partnerships will truly only work or make sense when the shared audience benefits both parties.
Leads/Benefits/Traffic- What is the size of the targeted audience of a potential co-marketing partner you are considering? Even though a business you’re looking to partner with shares the same demographic or target audience as your property, it would not be ideal to partner with them if they don’t generate a substantial amount of traffic from your targeted audience.
Make sure to shift your focus to select partners who will increase your flow of leads and traffic. But if you do decide to partner with a company/organization that does not have as big of an audience as your property, manage your expectations and know that this may be a situation where you are cultivating a relationship that may hopefully benefit you in the future. Maintaining good relationships within your local communities is always beneficial.
Reputation- Make sure the any potential cross promotion partner has a good standing in your local community so there is no risk to compromise your property’s credibility or reputation. Select partners with positive online reviews, good community rapport, ethical business practices, etc.
Enjoy!- I think at times we might undervalue the importance of actually ENJOYING the projects and partnerships that we start. Make sure that the relationship you are forming is one that you and your staff can enjoy and have fun being a part of (and that your partners can say the same about you!).
Getting Started & Executing
Once you do find a cross promotion partner you want to work with, ensure that you are very clear about your own goals and what you expect the results to be. Discuss your timelines and objectives in order to make sure they align for both parties involved. In the end, review your discussions and make sure that both sides are happy with how things turned out and look for ways to make any necessary improvements.
MEASURING Your Results
We at the Preiss Company place a lot of value on “Management by Measurement” (if it cannot be measured, it cannot be managed). Being able to determine the benefit and return on each of your partnerships is of paramount importance. When initiating a cross-marketing promotion, make sure that you are utilizing tools like specific promotion or coupon codes that are unique, so that you are able to measure the reach and success of a specific plan. This way, you’re able to make any necessary adjustments going forward.
When it’s all said and done, cross-promoting can be an awesome tool that can be integrated into your overall leasing and marketing strategy. It will help promote your property, increase your leads, and save dollars in your budget. I’ve used this marketing strategy countless times in the past and will continue to use it going forward. Even though you’ll need to constantly adjust your practices and techniques in order to maximize results, it will definitely be worth it in the end.
