Many businesses have taken a major hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic and right now, businesses need to support each other get back on their feet. Partnering up with businesses inside and outside of your industry can helping with marketing can be a really effective way of building your brand and raising attention.

There are many great ways to cross-promote yours and partnering businesses to help build each other’s brand and bring new leads to your door. So, how do you go about it?

The right partners can work wonders for your business. Here are some cross-promotion ideas to get you going and start building your brand:

Promote partner business deals on social media

When you find a business you want to partner with, agree to share each other’s latest offers through your social media. Promote a special offer they’re running and, in return, they’ll share your new menu, dish or other latest news. When your partnering business has an audience you want to reach out to, promoting each other’s offers can not only expand your reach, but it can increase your credibility when a bigger audience has good things to say about you.

How do you find partnering businesses?

To get started, find out about local businesses in the area and reach out to them. Start with your Chamber of Commerce, explore other local businesses, such as cafes or food producers.

The best business partnerships work when:

• The partnering business is in the same industry but not in competition • You have a benefit to bring to the partnering business • They have a bigger audience than you to help you reach more people

There may be a local designer that specialises in menus and napkins, which may be ideal to suit your restaurant offerings. Reach out to them through local networking events, Facebook groups, find a contact person on LinkedIn and ask to connect or call them directly for a chat!

Come up with a joint offer

When you find a partnering business and you agree that you can both help each other, a joint deal or discount works well. As a restaurant, a neighbouring business, such as a local leisure centre or activity provider, that you can work with to come up with a joint offer can complement your business well. Maybe customers get a discount rate on the cost of the activity when they buy a meal from you. The local leisure centre could offer a discount of free side dish when a customer signs up for one of their weekly classes.

Host your venue to local community groups

Offer your rooms or venue to local community groups at a discounted rate. Small groups that do activities or hobbies together often have a need for a space that isn't overpriced and not only will this bring people to you, but it will get your business name out there and known for what it offers. Another opportunity for word-of-mouth marketing!

Print logo on the marketing

It can be your logo, a tagline about your business or a small call-to-action - anything that gets across the message or catches attention about your business. Agree with a partnering business to promote each other's business with each other's audience. It's all about getting more eyes on your brand and getting people noticing you.

You could also On the receipt or a small leaflet your logo with a discount or an offer for customers to take home and return again to use.

Host a local event

With a local event you know is popular or well-received by the community, it’ll be great benefit to get involved. You can do this by hiring a stall, helping out with the organisation or even providing some of the food at a discount, or even for free! In return, the event organisers may offer to feature your logo or some information about your business. It could even turn into a sponsorship deal with local businesses.

These are just a handful of ideas to cross-promote your business, it's all about getting you noticed and out there. Some of these may work better for you then ohers, start with one or two and see how they work for you.