Coping in a recession allows for a whole new marketing tool set
Rather then sticking our heads in the sand and denying that it exists despite numerous stories of negative growth I say lets gear our businesses to be lean, mean and actively seek marketing channels that not only work for your business but provide measurable ROI opportunities.
The financial and credit markets are predictors of the future
Any way you want to measure it, 2010/2011 will be a year of recession, possibly a big one. Does this mean go and hideout in a bunker until the clouds dissipate? If you do, this will be a mistake which you will regret for a very long time.
Tough times call for action, not passivity. It calls for greater precision and targeting for the most efficient and ROI-driven strategies to maintain and improve your sales and profits. Yes, I said improve, even in a recession. The following from Emarketer was just released showing the estimates of online advertising spending growth: The doom and gloom crowd don’t believe these numbers and therefore won’t share them with you as we are here.
According to a June McKinsey & Co. survey of 340 senior marketing executives worldwide.
91% are using online advertising, and over one-half indicate that their companies plan to maintain or exceed current levels where possible. Even more telling, 55% of marketers said they are cutting expenditures on traditional media, precisely in order to increase funding for online efforts.
Why is this?
Why do marketing experts believe that shifting precious marketing budgets online and taking away from the traditional media is the way to go? It all comes down to results.
Here are the key reasons for the phenomenon:
1. The buyer is finding your website as a result of their personal initiative; all at a time and place of their choosing. Traditional media reach less than . 05% of their target market at enormous cost; this is the quintessential example of inefficiency and waste and cannot be tolerated by all those on a tight marketing budget.
2. The web is, more than anything else, an instrument of measurement. Therefore it is vastly more measurable and accountable than traditional methods.
3. The web is clearly more targeted and provides us much granularity as the buyer or the seller desires. The information is all there and always available.
4. The web is just simply gaining viewer time. Traditional media commercials are ignored or fast-forwarded using new technology. When online, viewers are in buyer mode when searching for a product or service; they have the confidence that the web / Google search will lead them to the right information, the right purchase at the right price.
5. Traditional media provide you only the information they want you to know in the time or space they are allowed. The web provides no barrier; buyers can check out products, prices, terms and conditions. They can use the social media and other supportive tools to gain the confidence and peace of mind they need before making a buying decision.
So here is what you need to do to overcome the challenge of recession:
- Improve your Internet Marketing Strategy. This includes many factors: a. Hire a professional Internet Marketing Company to partner with
- Generate a game plan to generate targeted SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Sponsored Search or PPC (Pay per Click).
- Make a major commitment to content and more content with the company you select. Content is life-blood of quality SEO results.
- Improve your website to optimize conversions as well.
- Start e-publishing a monthly newsletter for your existing clientele. Keep your name in front of your customers and new prospects that sign up through the sign-up on your website.
- Start writing a blog full of interesting and topical information around your industry or service offering and integrate it into a social media strategy that your Internet Marketing Consultant can assist you with.
Do all of these things and more and you will be found by precisely those people who are seeking your products and services.