How Small Businesses can Promote Each Other

Here's an idea I've had for a few years to reduce marketing costs for small businesses. It's based on actual discussions. Perhaps you can adapt it.

There's a hair stylist who has upscale clientele.

About 6 blocks away there's a spa who has similar clientele.

Another several blocks is a coffee roasting company. They, also, would attract a similar clientele.

Their challenge: limited marketing budget and limited time to promote their own businesses.

Solutions: Share costs on creating postcards, business cards and more to cross promote.

Here's how it could work.

Offline
Customer A gets hair styled in the salon and she's given a thank-you note with the contact information of all 3 companies. Presenting the note at either of the other two businesses allows her to have a discount if she uses the spa or buys coffee.

The other 2 businesses provide the same card at their location for their customers.

They target several zip codes, purchase a mailing list and mail out the card once a month for the next 6 months.

Online
The 3 companies either do or don't have their own individual web sites. It doesn't matter if 2 do, and the other doesn't.

They pay to have a simple 1 - 3 page site created with a picture from their businesses and links to their current site or a promotional coupon that can be printed off for use.

They create a blog together and each agrees to post 3 - 5 times per month and they hire a writer to handle the other posts.

A sample budget for this combined effort could be:

1,000 postcards for $75 or less.

A 1 - 3 page site for $500 to $1,500 depending on features.

A blog created for $500 to $1,500 depending on features.

Each company only has to spend less than $1,000 to share a promotional effort.

How would you improve on this scenario and what other types of businesses could cooperate together?