Team Up to Stretch Your Marketing Dollars

As seen in the Tallahassee Democrat on June 7, 2009 (Author: Howard Libin)

Small Business Management
Just because business is off, it doesn’t mean you can afford to pull back the throttle on your marketing efforts. But today’s economy does demand that you make your dollars work harder.  One way to stretch your marketing investment is by teaming up with other businesses to lower costs through cooperative advertising efforts.
When times get tough, it’s time for the tough to get more creative — and that’s exactly what I’m seeing many local business owners do.

Benson’s Heating & Air did some work at my house and ever since, I have been on their newsletter and postcard mailing list. The other day I was sorting my mail and I notice a postcard with Benson’s logo, but on the same card I surprisingly saw Keith McNeill Plumbing’s logo as well.  By executing this joint mailing campaign each company was able to reach twice as many targeted prospects at a much lower cost per impression. Since each firm had won its category in the “The Best Of Tallahassee” awards, there was a natural rationale for their joint mailing.

In another example, Capital Tree Service and Tallahassee Turf joined forces on an insert in the Tallahassee Democrat. The related, but not competing, firms each took one side of the insert to promote their respective services. By sharing the insert, each was able to cut their expenditure in half, while still enjoying nearly all of the marketing benefit. Doug Renken, owner of Capital Tree Service, reported the program was a hit and he would do it again in an instant.

Two local consulting firms, Deanna Mims’ MarketDone and Elizabeth Barbour’s The Inspired Entrepreneur, have come together to create the Tallahassee Entrepreneurs Network to promote a series of workshops designed to show small business owners how to hone their networking skills and grow their businesses.  Deanna and Elizabeth share the cost of promoting the events and take turns presenting the course material and leading the discussion. At the end of each meeting participants are given an evaluation form where among other things they can request a meeting with either consultant to discuss followup projects.

Throughout the country I am seeing a growing number of companies working together to reduce their marketing cost and broaden their reach.

• A theater group offered space in their program to area restaurants in exchange for table tents announcing an upcoming show.
• Tenants of a shopping center combined their energies on a direct mail piece that celebrated the opening of a new store by announcing a sidewalk sale.
• A group of antique dealers in the same part of town take out monthly ads encouraging readers to visit “Gallery Row,” which boosts overall traffic in the area.
• A trade association agreed to send e-mail to its members touting the new products and services offered by a group of associate members. In return, the firms in the e-mail distribute membership brochures to their customers who are potential association members.

Now it’s your turn. Put on your thinking cap and see what kind of marketing alliances make sense for your business.

* Howard Libin calls himself Supreme Commander of Adventures in Advertising, a Tallahassee-based promotional advertising agency. He writes regularly on small business management subjects. Contact him at howard@libinworld.com.