Stu Neal: Cross promotion an easily drive traffic

Times sure have changed in the cross-promotions world.

Years ago, when I taught the concept of cross promotions, it was simple: Noncompeting businesses promoted one another via usage of fliers or coupons, with the aim of sending customers back and forth. It was, and remains, one of the cheapest and most effective methods of increasing traffic for most small businesses.

Back then, cross promotions could send hundreds of new customers in the door during a month or two, or for whatever period a promotion ran.

How things change in just a few years.

Using the same concept with today's technology, it's now the norm to touch thousands with cross promotions. Yes, thousands.

Is your business taking advantage of this?

If not, with an improving economy (yet budgets still tight), perhaps now is the time to review marketing options and make full use of these cost-effective methods.

Of course, you'll need some noncompetitive businesses that are willing to coordinate with you.

For most small-business owners, that's the easy part. And if you don't have any, it's time to start networking to find a few.

A chamber of commerce or service club is a great way to surround yourself with other entrepreneurs who are looking for ways to increase business.

Here are a few great places to start:

• Web sites. Placing small banner ads, or even links, to each other's Web sites is a simple yet effective cross promotion.

Adding printable coupons will make it even more effective, as customers who like what they see will have added incentive to actually visit the other business.

• E-mail lists. Most successful entrepreneurs today take full advantage of e-fliers or newsletters that go out to their customers on a regular basis.

These are usually communications that the recipients -- their own customers -- enjoy getting regularly, or they would have opted out.

Using another's list for your own direct usage can be considered spam and may actually create ill-will. It should be discouraged.

However, promoting each other's businesses within each respective mailer to customers is another matter. Most of the programs have the option of adding printable coupons, which adds additional incentives.

• Twitter. I originally was quite skeptical of this as a marketing tool, but after speaking with numerous business owners who have very successfully experimented with Twitter, I'm now a convert.

Businesses can post "tweets" -- a message that is up to 140 characters long.

Twitter has the ability to use "real-time" as a way to drive sales. Think of a "Thursday and Friday Only, Very Limited Supply, First Come-First Served, Get There Before It's Too Late" sale.

The real advantage to Twitter is the multiplier.

If recipients are interested and done right, the Twitter message will be sent to others, who then send to others, who then send . . . well, you get the idea.

Done right, this can get a message to thousands in just a few hours.

The best part of cross promotions? The costs. The above will take a bit of time but not a lot of money. For most of us, those look like pretty good options in today's market.

Stu Neal is CEO and principal of the SMN Consulting Group in Mechanicsville. He can be contacted at . Visit his Web site at http://www.StuNeal.com.