Cross-Marketing: Building Reach by Working Together

In marketing, as in life, collaboration and outside support help people grow and improve—and the same is true of businesses. In a competitive market, finding an ally can make the road easier: working together helps you overcome challenges faster and discover original ideas. In business, this approach is known as cross-marketing.

Cross-marketing means finding common ground between companies and building a partnership around it. The partners create campaigns, offers and events together, and reach each other’s audiences to increase sales of complementary products or services.

In this article:

— why cross-marketing can help;
— how to choose a partner;
— the main types of cross-marketing;
— its potential benefits.

First, let’s look at the goals a business can pursue by adding cross-marketing to its promotion strategy:

Ultimately, every business wants to be profitable. This approach can increase sales by introducing products to a new audience that is interested and has the means to buy.

Working together creates more opportunities to develop distinctive offers, stand out from other businesses and strengthen your competitive position.

Even when audience segments are similar, they are not necessarily identical. Working with other brands can broaden your reach and bring in customers your marketing messages did not reach before.

A partnership can open up new ways to reach your audience. Cross-marketing may give a brand access to a partner’s social media, email campaigns, push notifications and other channels. Reaching a partner’s audience this way usually requires a collaboration with that brand or project.

People may trust a brand more when it partners with a company that already has a strong reputation and loyal audience. A well-known, respected partner can be a particularly good fit. Choose carefully, though: a partner’s poor reputation can affect your brand too.

A successful collaboration can open the door to future projects. A partner you know and trust can make that cooperation more stable and productive.

Finding potential partners can be difficult. Not every company has an established partnership culture or a dedicated manager for these initiatives, and a generic inbox may not reach the right person. As a result, the final shortlist can be much smaller than the initial list of prospects.

When working with clients, we give the preparation stage particular attention because it contributes significantly to the outcome. We shape the offer as a complete proposition: explain the benefits of partnering, provide a tailored plan, and outline sustainable marketing channels. We present all of this in a supporting deck. Sometimes a simple “We’d like to work with you” email may be enough, but at Serenity we take a more considered approach.

First, we set objectives and make them measurable so the results can be assessed. Then we check whether the selected target audience is a good fit and overlaps with the prospective partner’s audience; audience alignment is rarely as stable as we would like. Finally, we choose the specific segment our promotional activity will address.

These are the criteria we use when assessing a potential partner:

Our roleis to make partner selection easier by drawing on our established relationships with other brands. Reaching potential partners can be simpler when a relevant contact network is already in place. Our specialists can also develop effective joint campaign strategies around your business and audience.

Once you find a suitable partner, agree on the terms, define each party’s responsibilities, assess the risks and choose the campaign format. We can help coordinate this too.

There are many forms of cross-marketing, and they continue to change with markets and trends. Some established approaches include:

Combine complementary features from existing products or services in one offer. For customers, a bundle can be good value because the combined price may be lower than buying each item separately.

Offering free product samples can encourage people to consider a regular purchase. It helps build trust by letting them assess quality for themselves, without pressure.

Encourage customers to buy from both partner businesses through discounts or gifts. This can introduce each company to the other’s customers and support further interaction between the brands.

Each partner promotes the other through its own channels. This creates an additional way to reach people and expands the audience available to both businesses.

Like cross-promotion, this involves both partners, but the focus is on creating original content together rather than simply reposting. One common example is a giveaway featuring products from the sponsors as prizes.

Organise online or in-person events together to demonstrate each company’s expertise, explain the benefits of its products and show how the businesses complement one another. This can help visitors form a positive impression.

Create a loyalty programme that lets customers earn rewards or discounts from either partner.

Create a new brand for a limited period while bringing together the identity, values and character of both participating companies. This can give customers a distinctive experience and increase interest in the products.

It is hard to imagine how many approaches can work for a brand that may seem unconventional to promote. One example is Minisklad, a network of self-storage facilities for individuals.

Why do we value cross-marketing and recommend using it when the opportunity is there? Its potential benefits include:

Both partners should benefit. Plan the work so that everyone gains; otherwise, it is hard to call it a partnership, and no one should feel short-changed. Finding a win-win arrangement can help you use each partner’s strengths and expand what your business can do.

At first, cross-marketing can seem complicated. Involving several parties brings risks, such as coordination challenges and differences in approach, outlook and interests. But if the partners work through these challenges together, they can build promising relationships that help address important marketing challenges.

— increase sales;
— strengthen your competitive position;
— reach new audiences;
— open up new channels;
— build loyalty;
— create long-term relationships.

— product bundles;
— free product samples;
— special offers;
— cross-promotion;
— social media collaborations;
— joint event marketing;
— loyalty programmes;
— co-branding.

— not compete with you directly;
— offer products or services that complement yours;
— have a similar audience;
— operate in some of the same geographic markets;
— serve a similar price segment;
— share values and a mission similar to yours;
— have a positive reputation;
— be ready to invest.

Do not be afraid to try something new in your business. You can gain valuable experience and discover new opportunities. Cross-marketing may be the right tool for your business and a starting point for its next stage of growth.