“How Can We Help Each Other?” What You Need to Know About Co-Marketing

Partner with other growth-minded professionals to help scale up success.

As a mortgage professional, strong relationships within your business network are fundamental for success. But how can you make the most of these contacts? What might a true, mutually beneficial relationship look like?

Enter: Co-marketing. 

Co-marketing is when two individuals or companies team up in their marketing efforts. This can mean more resources, more good ideas, and more reach. 

Take the partnership between Longboi and Weiner-Paw-Looza, for example. Longboi, a company that makes clothes for dachshunds, entered into a co-marketing agreement with Weiner-Paw-Looza, a local wiener dog festival. They set up a branded photo booth background at the event, which helped market both organizations via social media posts.

As you might have guessed, festival attendees loved it. But co-marketing can be successful on a much broader scale, too. In fact, a whopping 70% of survey respondents say they enjoy co-branded partnerships in general.

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s dive a bit deeper into co-marketing and help you take the first step toward building your strategy today.

Vetting Potential Co-Marketing Opportunities

The first step in a successful co-marketing campaign is choosing the right counter party. For mortgage professionals, this might be a real estate agent, title company, or professional in another closely related service or field.

When you have someone in mind, ask yourself a few questions:

• Are they a credible professional in their field?
• What is their online and local reputation?
• Do they reach the type of audience you’d like to tap into?

Remember, a team is only as strong as the weakest link. Your choice of partner can influence the future and success of the entire campaign. So, choose carefully!

 Once you’ve successfully nailed down the perfect counter party, it’s time to start creating your campaign.

Prioritizing Compliance

If you’re producing co-branded marketing materials like flyers or brochures, compliance should be a top priority for both parties. However, as we all know, that can be easier said than done.

Keep this checklist in mind as you go about creating collateral:

• Ensure each party pays its proportional share of the advertisement.
• Ensure the agreed-upon marketing is actually performed.
• Ensure any payment for services is the fair market value.
• Include the word “Advertisement” in a prominent location.
• Document the procedures used to calculate charges and/or create a standardized rate sheet.
• Create written agreements to demonstrate compliance.
• Ensure that the advertisements are distributed to the general public and are not targeting specific consumers.
• Maintain oversight of the arrangement.

 For more information, check out this list of co-marketing do’s and don’ts from the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).

 You should always consult your company’s specific policies and procedures before moving forward. But don’t forget, you’re working with a counterparty now! They’ll need to bring knowledge and expertise regarding their company’s policies, too.

Launching Your Co-Marketing Campaign

Once you’ve found the perfect counterparty, created marketing materials, and ensured compliance, it’s time to get your campaign out the door.

 Remember that one of the key benefits of co-marketing should be expanded reach. That means each company should do its best to distribute the materials as widely as possible. This might include publishing to both websites/social media platforms or sending to both mailing lists.

 A few of the metrics you could use to track the success of your launch might include reach, page views, clicks, and new leads.

Evaluating Success

Speaking of success…

 No matter the scale of the co-marketing effort, it is important to assess the effort put in to determine if this is a strategy that works for you and your business.

 You may want to again ask yourself a few key questions:

• Was there a clear return on investment?
• Did you enjoy working with the other party?
• Did you build new relationships or generate more brand awareness?

 Obviously, the goals of every co-marketing campaign will look different. But these questions may be a good first step for measuring success.

Final Thoughts: Building Your Co-Marketing Strategy

If you’re interested in combining your marketing efforts and working synergistically with other growth-focused professionals, co-marketing could be an excellent opportunity for you.

 To make sure both you and your counterparty can reap the benefits of all your efforts, you may want to study the tips above. And, we’ve said it once, but we’ll say it again: make sure you review your company’s specific policies around co-marketing and compliance before getting started.

With a little creativity and a lot of compliance, you may be well on your way to co-branded success. Happy co-marketing!

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