Cross Promotion
Cross promoting your company is a highly-effective way to promote your business no matter what your advertising budget.
Take a look at recent Swiffer commercials that feature clips from Cinderella. Disney has paid $150 million to help promote the Cinderella Special Edition DVD release.
Swiffer commercials show a mom struggling to clean her floor while her daughter watches Cinderella on TV. From the TV comes a solution to the mom's cleaning problem and with some Cinderalla-like magic, the mom can now clean her floor with a Swiffer product.
You can do this too without the $150 million budget. You start by knowing what businesses support your own.
Let's say you own a prom dress shop. People who come to buy prom dresses will need their hair done. Now you've got a beauty shop on your list.
They like to have their picture taken. Now you've got a portrait studio on your list.
They get corsages from their dates who also rent tuxedos from your shop. Now you've got a florist on your list.
Approach these companies for a cross promotion. You can choose to advertise together or, at the very least, you can agree to swap fliers that will be displayed at each other's store locations.
An even better solution is to offer customers a discount for doing business with you and the company you're cross promoting with. Offering customers something as simple as 10-percent off for buying a dress from you and getting their hair done at the salon can increase your sales.
Your dress shop could even offer a coupon good for a free corsage on prom night with one tuxedo rental. These little bonus offers can really rack up your sales.
Don't Forget the Basics
Location, hours, phone, fax, Email and Web site address are all key information so include them in all of your materials. It may seem obvious but sometimes people get so caught up in the selling message, they actually forget their core information that's vital to the sale.
Getting customers in the door is one of the biggest hurdles you'll face as a business owner. Using these five keys gives you a clear advantage over your competitors that will help grow your company no matter how long you've been in business.