How to make your marketing more effective through piggybacking

Introduction

Making your marketing strategy effective is not always a matter of how much of a budget you have allotted to that portion of your business costs.There are times when you can spend very little money by marketing smarter not harder.This means finding lower-cost alternatives to traditional marketing methods that still produce interest in those belonging to the target market.Piggybacking is just one way of making your marketing strategies more effective without having to spend a lot of money.

Instruction

To make your marketing more effective through piggybacking, you must first understand what piggybacking is.Piggybacking is when the producers of a product team up with the manufacturer or producer of another non-competing product in order to be of mutual benefit to each other.Piggybacking is a low-cost tactic used by marketers to gain entry into a specific target market by introducing their product or company in a very comfortable and almost accidental seeming way.

How to use piggybacking to make your marketing more effective

• Know your target market - In order to piggyback with the company that will be most beneficial to you, you will need to have an excellent understanding of your target market.Your target market is the group of existing or potential customers that are most likely to purchase your product or service.If your target market is an older or elderly market you wouldn't find much success piggybacking with a restaurant that is also a popular hang-out for college kids.You have to know where your target market is most likely going to be so that you can plan for them to encounter your product there.
• Be mindful of timing/seasons - People have different purchasing and lifestyle habits depending on the time of the year and the time that they are experiencing in their lives.For example, if you are marketing a new kind of Christmas tree stand, you do not need to be piggybacking in May.Likewise, if your target market is college aged adults, they are likely to be in certain places during the semester and in other places during semester breaks.Knowing when, where, and for how long your target market will be in certain areas, will give you a better idea of prime locations and businesses to work alongside when piggybacking.
• Have the inside track by getting to know the right people and places - Many times you will need to be a good sales person in order to piggyback most successfully.You need not only to be able to convince the company that you want to work with that a partnership with your company can be mutually beneficial, but you need to also sell yourself to the point that people enjoy working with you and will be willing to make adjustments in order to accommodate your reasonable requests.

Piggybacking has so many different forms it would be impossible to name them all right now.Piggybacking can be done on something as short term as a major event such as a grand opening or something more permanent such as supplying items with your company name on them to a business that will use those items on a regular basis.Any situation in which you can benefit another producer while at the same time effectively marketing your own product is an effective use of piggybacking.Piggybacking can have far reaching impact when used in conjunction with the internet and e-businesses.Do not limit yourself to physical locations and local events.Cooperating with other businesses on the internet is a great way to use piggybacking to acquire an international advantage.