Global Gadget Imports Cooperative marketing is any situation where two or more companies work together to bring a product to market, especially when the brands of both firms are attached to the marketing. Another form of cooperative marketing could be setting up a system whereby firms in an industry are marketing their products together to a common set of customers -- a common example can be found with agricultural cooperatives.

The link provided outlines a cooperative market program at the governmental level that allows vendors to have better access to government customers. The government agencies opt into the program, as do the vendors, and then the agencies outline their needs for vendors. The vendors then have the opportunity to peruse the needs of all of the agencies nationwide and seek out the opportunities that are listed on the cooperative website. For Global Gadgets, such a program would allow GGI to have access to a large number of potential customers. A cooperative marketing program for housewares or furniture would allow GGI to match up with potential customers who need the service.

There are a number of benefits associated with a cooperative marketing program. The first is that it should lower the costs associated with finding new customers. The link describes a program that theoretically would give IT companies access to hundreds of government agencies at multiple levels of government. A company trying to win sales at each...

With the cooperative marketing program, a company can gain access to these agencies simply be filling out a form and perhaps paying a small fee. Thus, the marketing program makes the firm's overall marketing more efficient.
Another advantage of the cooperative marketing program is that the company can identify customer needs more easily. The reason for this is the customers are posting their needs for bidding on the program's website. Under normal circumstances, customer needs could go unknown because the agency does not contact the company. The company would need to maintain a very strong, active relationship with the company, whereas with a cooperative marketing program that is not necessarily the case, because of the way that the marketing process works.

Besides advertising, there are many ways in which companies can engage in cooperative marketing. Companies can combine their costs at trade shows, for example, by splitting booths or otherwise combining their costs. Another form of cooperative marketing is that firms can setup up joint venture subsidiaries to target specific markets. This happens in other industries for firms wishing to gain access to new markets -- for example a joint venture that combines one company's marketing with another company's manufacturing expertise. Combining resources can be an especially valuable way to enter…