How Co-op Marketing Can Boost Your Jewelry Business
By Emmanuel Raheb
Founder and CEO, Smart Age Solutions
As a jewelry retailer, advertising is your most expensive cost in growing your business. How you allocate your marketing budget and which channels you choose to advertise in can be a challenge. To be effective, marketing campaigns require a proven strategy. Reduce your financial risk and improve your chances of success by leveraging the power of co-operative advertising, also referred to as co-op marketing.
Co-op marketing is when a retailer and manufacturer join together to share the expense of a particular sales initiative or marketing campaign. For jewelry businesses, it typically consists of promoting the jewelry brand or specific style or collection of a designer.
Co-op marketing campaigns can include traditional media such as television or radio, print media which includes magazines and newspapers, digital media with PPC pay-per-click, social media and email, or even outdoor advertising such as billboards. Anywhere your jewelry business advertises can become part of a co-op marketing program. The flexibility and opportunities are endless.
To be successful, co-op marketing must be based on mutual goals as well as established trust. Both are a requirement to get the most out of the partnership. Let’s look at three main advantages of co-op marketing and why you should consider it for your jewelry business.
- Reduce Your Costs
Co-op marketing is free money. These funds are applied to your marketing campaign and matched dollar-for-dollar with what you put in. And, the best part is that it doesn’t cost you anything extra if you’re already marketing. You just have to shift your focus from one jewelry designer or manufacturer to another – whoever is willing to partner with you on a co-op campaign.
This also increases your marketing budget enabling you to spread these funds over a longer period of time and can even extend your advertising calendar into a different season. In sum, it gives you more money to play with.
- Increase Your Exposure
Some co-op partners are willing to put at least 50% or more towards your marketing campaigns to get their brand name known in your local area and drive new sales. By partnering with you, it effectively
doubles or even triples the amount of exposure either of you would be able to spend on your own. Instead of a small limited social media campaign, you can increase the marketing radius around your store and expand your sphere of influence. You reach a much larger audience and own a bigger local footprint.
- Ensure Mutual Success
It’s been said that a rising tide lifts all boats, and nowhere is this more true than in the jewelry industry. Co-op campaigns not only reduce your risk in case the advertising isn’t effective, but it empowers you to try new digital marketing channels you may not have considered before. Mobile ads and geo targeting are some of the hottest new areas having phenomenal success. Give them a try!
Another advantage of partnering on a co-op campaign is that it establishes that you’re serious about a particular designer or jewelry collection. When you make sales, your success ultimately becomes their success. So, there’s an incentive for them to help you succeed. You both have a vested interest in the outcome and it makes a great foundation to build upon.
Remember, when you use co-op marketing in your jewelry business you help create the local demand needed to generate sales. Localized web banners and optimized landing pages are just some of tools you can use. Not only that, no one understands the local market as well as you do! No manufacturer or designer can match the expertise of a trusted family jeweler who has been part of the community for generations.
The best way to get started with co-op marketing is to contact all of your current jewelry suppliers. Speak with their marketing department and see if they currently offer any co-op advertising incentives. It doesn’t hurt to ask. You’d be surprised just how many companies have a co-op program, but it’s not widely publicized. It might be reserved only for their favorite jewelry store partners, so why not you?
Co-op programs are one of the most powerful ways to grow your jewelry business. If you need any help implementing your strategy, don’t hesitate to contact us! We’d love to be part of your success and show you exactly how to succeed with co-op marketing.
