I've heard many a creative designer bemoan that his or her skills were better suited for knitting than for business. Yet, when it comes to promotion and marketing, your creativity can be your best asset. This article will show you how to apply creative thinking to developing cross promotions, profitable partnerships that can bring your products to qualified new markets at a very low cost.

First, what do I mean by cross promotion? Cross promotion is a marketing strategy that places your product or service in front of the customers of a complimentary business by offering that business's customers something of value. The benefits are synergistic. You get your work in front of a new audience of pre-qualified folks. The other business gets to build interest and goodwill with its existing customers.

The first key to successful cross promotion is matching the demographics of the prospective partner's customers with that of your own. There's not much to be gained by cross-promoting cashmere twin sets with the local demolition derby. At the same time, however, it is important not to limit your thinking to obvious partners.

You might successfully cross promote your high end apres-ski wear with an upscale pet store as long as you both attract the same customer, albeit for highly different ends.

The second key to successful cross promotion is making sure that both you and your partner benefit. Offer your prospective partner something that will gain him or her increased customer interest, loyalty and good will. Some examples follow.

Sally Smith owns Sultry Fashions, a production knitting company which specializes in body-conscious party clothing. Her designs are fashion forward, designed and priced to appeal to young women. The customers who can wear these slinky designs often work hard to stay in shape. Thus, the Generation X Gym is a natural partner for Sally's cross promotions. She calls the gym manager and offers to provide a lunch hour fashion show for his customers. They gym does all of the promotion; Sally provides the show. The gym manager gets a high-interest special event to offer his clients with very little effort or expense. Sally gets to show her work to the targeted group that is most likely to appreciate and buy her fashions.

Bundles of Joy is a company specializing in customized knit baby blankets. Owner Betty Bundle calls a local diaper service and offers them the chance to participate in a drawing. Betty will provide the grand prize: a custom baby blanket. The diaper service, which already has a program for gathering the names of affluent parents-to-be, will sponsor and run the drawing. Betty will get a copy of the mailing list of everyone who responds to the drawing and can follow-up with a brochure, letter or postcard promoting her blankets.

How do you recognize a complimentary business?

Start by thinking about the customer who is most likely to like, use and be able to afford your product.

• Is this customer a certain age?
• Where does this customer go for fun?
• What is his or her lifestyle?

In other words, where else does this customer spend time and money?

Don't get hung up on whether or not the potential partner for a cross promotion is in a similar business: you are looking for creative compliments.

Do make sure that you offer this prospective partner something of value that they can, in turn, use to build the loyalty and good will with their customers. So turn off your doubtful critic and brainstorm.

Here's another example. Your customers are affluent folks in suburbia; many of them are interested in the Internet and spend evenings online. You partner with a computer store to hold a drawing for a knit lap robe or afghan for those chilly nights in front of the computer. Your partner makes room on the sales counter for a display of your business cards or brochures and the lap robe is displayed in the store for the duration of the contest. You both get the benefit of a mailing list comprised of the names and addresses of everyone who entered the drawing.

Are you getting the drift?

By offering something that your prospective partner in promotion can use to please and delight their own customers, you get your product or service in front of a pre-qualified group of buyers. Now, what can you offer these natural partners? You've already read a few examples; here are some more possibilities.

Free seminars.  

If you are a custom knitter offer to hold free seminars in color coordination, selecting flattering shapes for any figure, or the care and cleaning of fine fibers. Consider partnering with a dry-cleaner who might underwrite the cost of renting a classroom and promoting the seminars in return for the chance to distribute advertising materials to those who attend.