As you know, the holiday season is an important time of year for retailers. It's when most businesses start making a profit, rising into the black by the end of the fourth quarter. That's why you should try to maximize revenue during these particularly lucrative months. One way to make the most of your holiday promotions is by partnering with other companies or organizations.
Take note of these tips to find and launch your own business partnerships this holiday season.
Who is a good fit?
If you're interested in creating a loose partnership with another business in your area, there are a few factors to consider.
The National Federation of Independent Businesses suggested looking at the decision from your customers' perspectives. What other services or products do they seek out? The business you choose to join forces with can be one that provides complementary products or has a similar customer demographic.
Additionally, this is the perfect time of the year to team up with non-profits. By aligning yourself with a particular cause, you're able to expand the number of people who know your brand while bolstering your company's commitment to social responsibility.
How is it done?
You can use a partnership to reach customers through traditional channels such as newspaper ads, since you'll have to power of two budgets behind the promotional material. Similarly, combining your mailing lists will help you get your marketing materials into new hands and homes. The same is true of digital mailing lists, as you can include your aligned firm's collection of customer email addresses in your next promotional blast.
Social media makes collaboration even easier because you can share posts from the other business, tag each other in updates and, ideally, gain followers from one another. The NFIB suggested holding an online contest with a grand prize that includes gifts from both companies to garner attention this holiday season.
A nearly effortless way to engage in cross-promotions with another store is by offering straightforward deals to each other's customers. Whether they receive a special discount by showing a receipt from your partner or you create a frequent shopper card that's good in both locations, customers will feel encouraged to collect savings from your business companion. This is especially effective if you team up with a store that's in close proximity.
If you think about the time and energy it takes to create eye-catching store displays you'll see the value of suggesting your customers patronize your partner, and vice versa, in your upcoming designs. Include business cards, brochures, samples or subtle display fixtures from your marketing counterpart to show how effective the loose partnership is.
Why is this productive?
The benefits of such collaborations range from increased advertisement exposure and the ability to craft more dynamic campaigns to conserved resources including time and money.
Marketing Digest reported on Experience Marketing Service's 2014 holiday marketing campaigns report, which highlighted the importance of holiday sales to many American marketers. Results showed that two-thirds of companies dedicate 20 percent of their marketing budgets to promote merchandise and deals in November and December. By combining efforts with another company, you can make the most of this investment in marketing without doling out any extra funds.
According to the data, sending coupons and information by email is still the best way to market to adults who regularly use the internet. This demographic will likely click the links in your emails and take advantage of the deals you send to their inboxes.
Although more than half of the respondents said their best customer could be anyone during the holiday season when people are shopping for others, it can be helpful to identify your target audience in conjunction with a partner. Three factors to consider in the process are how often customers make purchases, how much they spend and how long they've been a patron.
