Benefits of Co-branding
Co-branding is basically combining the strengths of 2 brands to reap more profits or expand market potential. While this is a popular business practice in the offline market, it is not yet fully embraced as part of online marketing. It is very useful if both businesses serve the same target market with complementary needs.
A classic example of co-branding is the tandem Gillette M3 Power shaving equipment with battery brand Duracell. A recent example of co-branding is the combination of an express coffee shop Jo To Go and Mexican grill drive-through store Taco Flamingo. The outcome is a one-stop coffee and Mexican food drive through store aimed to serve orders in less than 2 minutes.
How Co-branding Can Help Your Startup Business?
- Explore and capture untapped categories or niche
- Expand reach to new customers
- Higher sales revenues and royalty income
- More efficient operations when sharing best practices
- Better exposure or coverage because of joint advertising initiatives
Implementing Co-branding Online
Co-branding remains underutilized in the online business but it can be profitable when done properly. The idea is to deal with another product or service relevant to your target market. More importantly it must add value to your customers.
A online real estate firm, for instance, can team up with a mortgage firm. Why? Life’s experiences tell us that anyone who’s interested in buying a new house or property usually considers the paying options. Striking a deal with a mortgage site will help customers understand their options better and save their time from checking other different sites.
By the way, Likelihood of Confusion blog has a good example of a co-branding hell.
