A few days ago, I was walking through the cereal aisle in my neighborhood Wal-Mart Super Center. While examining all the yummy cereals and trying to guess which ones would make me a hero with mom and children, my eyes latched hold of a white box with a large green ogre and donkey plastered on the front. Right away my thoughts went back to the preview I had seen heralding the release of Shrek II.
"Isn't that cute," I thought to myself. "Shrek's clever marketers put their message on a cereal box." As I was reflecting on my discovery, I travelled a little further and caught sight of Shrek on some breakfast bars. Suddenly, I started noticing the green ogre on practically every product aisle -even in the hair products! Then came the thought, who is paying who in this deal?
In most cases the product company seeks out the license so they can benefit from a short term popularity of some mega occasion�such as a major motion picture. A few businesses such as John Deere, on the other hand, are long-term businesses. John Deere stands for the heart of American family values and possesses a whole division committed to getting the John Deere brand to appear all over. John Deere licenses their brand name for toys, board games, tools and clothes. Often, they co-venture the project.
Though many large businesses are able to set up mass marketing licensing projects, small businesses and emerging companies could never pull something that big off. So "How do we go about using big company marketing techniques in our small enterprise?" Try the following four ideas to get your brand out more:
Find affiliates that agree to refer you � Do you presently provide a referral program? If your business is focused on supplying a piece of the value chain for a number of businesses, it is likely that people will happily send business your way, particularly if it strengthens your partner's product or service. Referral fees vary from a couple dollars, to as high as 20 percent of the sale, with 10% being the regular fee for most businesses.
Allow other businesses to license & sell your products as their own � Once more, if your offering adds a worthwhile component to the value chain, you will be able to authorize various businesses to sell your merchandise as their own. One illustration of adding a component to the value chain is having a company that provides ball bearings to auto manufacturers. Share a fee between 10-75% of the sale depending on the kind of merchandise you provide.
Create and Share supportive goods that have your brand name on them � If you provide one product that is beneficial to another company's customer base, you will be able to sell your product to the partner business' customers. For example, we had a client offer a training CD developed by an herbal supplement company as a free present to customers of their health food store.
Co-Brand new goods � Generate goods and services together with other businesses in your value chain. For example, if you are a patent attorney, generate an information product on intellectual property rights that can be distributed by contract manufacturers. Companies who create shampoo for animals could co-produce a specialized product with a flourishing veterinary hospital.
How does a emerging company market their products the way a booming business does? Be a Shrek. Get your brand name visible everywhere. Seek for chances to get your brand on other products. Profile your customers. Know where they hang out. Be aware of what they purchase and the places they shop. Go to those companies and look for ways to get your brand name on their shelves. Work the deals and split the earnings. In the end, you will bring in a boatload more cash and significantly boost your business.
NOTE: Use of this article requires links to be intact.
Rod Alan Richardson is dedicated to teaching people how to succeed in free enterprise through
Business Training. Mr. Richardson believes he can change the world by directing people to a higher road and putting them on the path to
Transcend Money.
