Small businesses, which usually have limited advertising budgets, often resort to unconventional methods to promote themselves. Two of the most common types of “small business” methods are cross promotions and freebies, or giveaways. Let's take a look at each, along with some pros and cons.

Cross Promotions

A cross promotion is leveraging the success or popularity of another business for your own good. In a cross promotion, you work with another business to (hopefully) increase sales for both companies. For example, you might offer free commercial color printing services from a commercial printer to any customer who buys a monthly subscription to your service. Or you could offer free movie tickets to any customer who buys your new product. Either way, you are working with another company to promote sales.

The benefits of cross promotions are obvious. If you are able to work out a deal with an established and reputable business in the area, then you are on the right track. Associating with a business that is already popular can significantly enhance the reputation of your company. It can be difficult for a new small business to establish itself in the minds of the customers, but partnering with a business that is already well entrenched can really moves that process along.

There is a possible negative involved, however. If the company you have partnered with has a serious problem at some point, and loses some of its luster, it could impact negatively on your own efforts. This is not likely, and even if it did happen, the effects would probably not last long. Still, the possibility is there and is worth noting. If it were to happen, one way to help combat the negative effects is to actively promote your separation from the offending company. You can do this by designing an attractive commercial color printing that extols your own company's virtues and qualities, and distributing that to as many customers as possible.

Freebies

Giveaways are another popular tactic used by startup small businesses. In a giveaway, you literally give away one of your products, or some of your services, to customers in an attempt to increase profits or to establish an identity for yourself. This is done in a variety of different ways. You could offer a free one-hour massage in the hopes that customers who take advantage of it will be so pleased that they will come back for more. You could give your customers a free ball cap for every two that they buy at regular price.

Giveaways, if done properly, can enhance a company's success, especially in its early stages. If you have a quality product or service and are just trying to introduce it to people, a giveaway can help you achieve that goal rather quickly. And if you are looking for cost effective advertising options, freebies are definitely an option you should consider.

However, you must use giveaways sparingly, and with care. Sometimes, freebies devalue your product. In other words, giving something away for free can lead customers to consider that product to be cheap, even if it is not. It becomes less valuable in the customer's mind, which is certainly not a good thing.

To avoid that problem, only give away a product for free if you pair it with another product that is already well established as a valuable item. If you are giving away a free service, do not overdo it by offering so much that it devalues your work. Basically, if you try to think like your customers, you will probably be fine.