Connecting with brand partners is one of the quickest and most efficient methods of growing a brand without doing everything yourself. Brand partnerships share the funds, ideals, goals, strategies, and advertising tactics to benefit both the brand and the partners.
The benefits of this relationship are numerous, but we’ll cover that later. In any case, small and medium businesses need to streamline their marketing plans and execute them on a local level before going global.
The main issue with this is overextension is that a small brand isn’t capable of covering multiple locations no matter how local they may be. And those that tend to go at it alone usually find themselves in a tough spot – no means of progressing further because they didn’t grow quick enough.
Co-op marketing and advertising make the impossible possible. Brand partners are in charge of operating in specific areas that the brand itself has selected as potential hotspots. Through sharing experience, assets, and funds, a co-op brand partnership can easily overcome most issues that prevent a brand from growing and expanding.
What is co-op marketing?
In essence, co-op marketing is a cost-effective method of maximizing the possibilities that marketing and advertising bring. The brand’s guidelines for advertising strengthen the relationship between manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.
In most cases, manufacturers are the ones who set the relationship terms between the aforementioned parties; the terms vary depending on how much the manufacturer has invested in the brand’s product marketing campaign.
Manufacturers can share assets, money, and marketing strategies with retailers who use this information to promote the brand in the best way. In some cases, manufacturers can also provide funds for settling advertising costs. Some assets that are often shared with co-op brand partners are brochures, flyers, photos, graphics, logos, posters, and more.
Why are brand partners an ideal choice for brand growth?
Brand partners essentially carry the message that the brand gives them. The brand doesn’t have to do everything itself, while brand partners receive valuable training about marketing. The brand can set aside co-op funds that brand partners (retailers mostly) use to acquire more merchandise and grow the brand.
As time goes by, these funds will increase in size due to the brand’s growth and the needs of its partners. Most commonly, brands will reward their co-op brand partners for achieving excellent sales by providing them with additional funds and other rewards.
It must be said that the brand itself dictates the use of co-op funds. The retailers must accept certain guidelines and use the funds appropriately. Co-op marketing platforms are superb when it comes to analytics and monitoring the use of said funds.
Benefits of having brand partners involved with marketing:
Marketing strategy collaboration
The teamwork resulting from this relationship between brand partners and the brand establishes a more effective playing field for ideas to spread. Production and retail work together to create a superb marketing strategy encourages more creative and innovative thinking than usual.
Brands are, in most cases, the leading voice when describing their products down to the technicalities, while retailers deal with marketing products for salability in shops and stores. The two sides constantly exchange experiences, creating a strong and fertile environment for growth.
Increased sales and brand recognition
Brand partners are incentivized to increase their sales as vendors due to the influx of co-op funds set by the brand. The sales potential of brand partnerships is among the highest in the marketing industry; retailers can purchase more of the brand’s products and sell those products in local areas.
When a brand begins expanding, the recognition needs to be improved, which is best done through brand partnerships. Brand partners can reach a more localized area, increasing demand for the brand’s products.
Financial benefit for both sides
Reduced sales costs are among the most sought-after characteristics of marketing strategies. Both brand partners and brands can benefit from the co-op partnership for several reasons.
Brand manufacturers generally have more extensive marketing departments than retailers. These marketing departments can craft effective advertisements and complex marketing strategies that are best executed by the retailers.
Sharing the marketing process with brand partners enables retailers to utilize high-quality marketing strategies at almost no cost (thanks to the brand’s co-op funds). In contrast, brands see a financial benefit from creating a stable and shared ownership of marketing methods and processes.
How to establish the most effective co-op brand partnerships:
Think about sustainability
It needs to be justified and possible if you’re looking to expand your brand’s presence and recognizability. Many smaller brands make the mistake of expanding too rapidly; brand partners can only increase sales as much as you can provide products. If you have too much demand to cover, the ramifications might be too much to handle.
Co-op fund pre-allocation
The available co-op funds for use by brand partners need to be pre-allocated. Everything needs to be prepared and ready before a marketing strategy, or sales plan begins. Retailers need to know exactly how much they can spend, so make sure to have this information ready.
Constant communication
Co-op brand partnerships thrive due to enhanced and consistent communication between all parties. Retailers need to stay in touch with the manufacturers to keep the production process stable. In contrast, manufacturers have to keep tabs on retailer performance to see whether or not the sales or marketing strategies are fruitful.
Set clear brand guidelines
The clearer your brand guidelines are, the more efficient your brand partners will be. They require a specific strategy for both marketing and sales, with their input of course. Such guidelines will guarantee the slick operation of all the processes set by the brand and its partners.
Monitor and analyze co-op brand partners’ success
Lastly, a brand needs to know how its marketing strategies or sales are doing. Using the best strategies requires learning from the bad ones, and this can only be done by analyzing how well the brand’s co-op partners are doing. Co-op marketing platforms are a good choice for this situation as they provide detailed and precise information about all the metrics a brand needs.
