Co-marketing
When two or more businesses work together to create and promote a product or service, this is called co-marketing. It can be beneficial for both businesses to share the costs and risks of product development and promotion. In fact, making use of each business's unique expertise and resources can be advantageous.
- 3 min read
What is co-marketing?
In co-marketing, the businesses work together to carry out an agreed plan for the creation and distribution of the product or service. This can involve sharing research and development costs. It can also mean promoting the product or service together through advertising campaigns and other means.
For businesses that want to enter new markets or create new products, co-marketing is a valuable tactic. They may not have the resources to do everything alone, for example. It can also be a strategy businesses use to strengthen their market position through alliances with complementary businesses.
Benefits of co-marketing
Co-marketing has the following benefits when used as a business strategy:
- Shared costs and risks: By working with another business, organisations can share the costs and risks of product development and marketing. If the product or service is not successful, the financial impact can be limited.
- Access to resources and expertise: Co-marketing lets businesses benefit from the skills and assets of the other party's people. This can be especially useful when tapping into new markets or creating new products.
- Increased productivity: By dividing and sharing responsibilities with a partner, businesses can streamline their operational procedures and increase productivity.
- Market expansion: Working with another business can open doors to new markets and customers.
- Better product quality: By working with a partner that has specific expertise, goods or services of higher quality can be developed.
- Greater credibility: Working with a respected business can increase the credibility of the product or service on offer.
Drawbacks of co-marketing
Co-marketing has several drawbacks, including:
- Complexity: Developing a co-marketing campaign can be a challenge and often requires working with people who have different interests and goals. Decision-making can be time-consuming, for example, and communication problems can arise.
- Loss of control: You have less control over the marketing strategy and the end product when you work with a co-marketing partner. If your vision and goals differ, conflicts can arise.
- Risks: Financial risks are also present in co-marketing. There can be serious consequences for the other parties if one of them goes bankrupt or cannot meet its responsibilities.
- Less distinctive: Because you work with other parties, the end result can be less distinctive than if you had done it alone. This can lead to less eye-catching marketing and a weaker brand image.
- Results are hard to evaluate because it is unclear how much of the success of a co-marketing campaign can be attributed to the efforts of each individual participant. This can cause confusion about who contributes what to the success of the campaign.
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Promoting together only works if both parties have their own channel in order. We help with that through Social media advertising and search engine optimisation. Have a look at the cases to see what that delivers in practice.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the difference between co-production marketing and co-marketing?
With co-marketing, businesses jointly promote existing products or services. With co-production marketing, the collaboration goes further: the parties also develop the product or service together and share its costs and risks.
How do you find a suitable partner for co-production marketing?
Look for a business that serves the same target group with something that complements your offer, rather than a competitor. Think of a roofer and a solar panel supplier, or a kitchen fitter and an installer. Put goals, tasks and the split of costs and revenue in writing beforehand.
How do you measure the result of a joint campaign?
Give each partner their own measurable entry point, such as a separate landing page, discount code or link with UTM parameters. That way you see per party which enquiries or sales come from the collaboration. It prevents arguments about who contributed what.
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