Small-business owners are constantly looking for ways to expand their visibility, and partnering with other local businesses can slash the cost of marketing. Whether you want to run a direct-mail campaign or sponsor a major local event, partnering with a complementary business can significantly increase your reach without busting your budget.

Direct Mail

Direct mail doesn’t work for all businesses, but some business owners can see lucrative returns from a well-executed direct mail campaign. Producing high-quality marketing materials and sending them through the mail, though, can lead to high advertising expenses. You can cut these expenses in half by partnering with another business to produce mail-ready fliers. With each business advertising on one side of the flier, each can enjoy the benefits of a direct-mail campaign at a considerably lower cost.

TV Commercials

Television spots can put your business in front of a large number of potential customers through a very powerful advertising channel. In many areas, especially densely populated markets, the cost of advertising on TV can be prohibitively expensive for small-business owners. However, you can bring this price down by partnering with another advertiser, without sacrificing a substantial amount of airtime. TV stations typically sell commercial slots in 30-second and 60-second increments. When you partner with another advertiser, you can divide this time evenly among the two partners, allowing ample time to get your message across while cutting your TV advertising budget in half.

Cross-Promotions

Running promotions in partnership with a complementary business can help boost revenues while providing value for your mutual customers. If you run a restaurant, for example, you can partner with a local movie theater to offer discounts on movie tickets when customers purchase certain promoted items. If you are a mechanic, you may consider partnering with a local car wash to offer discounted washes with the purchase of a routine service. Cross-promotions can benefit complementary or related businesses but may be somewhat less effective when promoting unrelated companies.

Special Events

Because large, community-oriented special events often require a considerable amount of planning and can carry a high price tag, few business owners are willing to sponsor the events on their own. By partnering with other local businesses, whether related or not, you can produce a memorable special event that will leave your business name in potential customers’ minds when they look back on the enjoyable occasion. To maximize exposure, be sure to get your company logo and contact information printed on fliers, programs, handouts and other event-related materials.