Did you know that many business owners, like yourself, have marketing dollars available through various manufacturers?
It’s estimated that there are over 70 billion dollars per year available in co-op funds (e.g. marketing funds) from thousands of manufacturers!
In case you’re not sure if you have co-op funds available for your business, we can help you find out.
What Is Co-Op?
Co-op stands for cooperative advertising and is a partnership between manufacturers and retailers to share the cost of advertising at the local level to increase product sales.
By sharing the cost, most manufacturers will reimburse you 50 percent (or more) on approved advertising campaigns. This advertising includes both traditional and digital/online marketing activities to promote your business!
If part of your business includes reselling manufactured goods, (e.g., flooring, HVAC equipment, paint, home and garden equipment, tires, power sport vehicles, etc.) you likely have co-op funds available to you.
Preliminary Steps
The first step is to identify what co-op funds may be available to you. You should be able to find this out by logging into your dealer portal or contacting your manufacturer’s rep.
They should be able to tell you how many dollars are available but also any guidelines or requirements to use those funds.
I Have Co-Op Dollars to Spend - Now What?
1. Create your marketing campaign.
This would include promoting the manufacturer alongside your business per their co-op program guidelines.
2. Time for pre-approval.
Submit the campaign, estimated costs and run dates to your manufacturer rep or designated point of contact for pre-approval.
This is a very important step to ensure you will be reimbursed before any expenses have occurred.
If your marketing campaign doesn’t get pre-approved, here is where you can make any changes to meet the manufacturers' co-op guidelines.
3. Start your marketing campaign.
Since the manufacturer is picking up some of the cost, you will be able to dramatically increase the marketing/visibility of your business (and their products) rather than paying for these services out of your own pocket.
It’s a win/win for you and the manufacturer!
4. The campaign is over. How do I get reimbursed?
Once the campaign has run for the pre-approved amount of time, you will need to provide them an invoice for all the expenses from your marketing campaign as well as a “proof of performance” report showing that the campaign ran as planned.
Once you supply these items, most manufacturers should reimburse you with a check or credit to your account within 60 days.
Final Thoughts
Now that you have a better understanding of how co-op dollars can be used to successfully promote your business, hopefully you’ll take advantage of those funds to help you dominate your local market with the products or services you provide.
At RevLocal, we assist our clients with their co-op programs at no additional charge. It’s just another way we strive to add value for our clients.
If you’re interested in finding out more, please contact us or fill out this online form and one of our team members will contact you shortly!