The Key to Success During an Economic Downturn

Whether the Great Depression or an economic Recession, many companies have made great strides by focusing on one thing – awareness. Proctor & Gamble pushed Ivory soap during the Depression and increased revenue; during the 1990-1991 recession Intel advertised “Intel Inside” to greater market share; and Wal-Mart dominated its competition with “Everyday Low Prices” during the 2000-2001 economic slowdown.

While your rivals are cutting back, you can benefit from aggressively marketing your business. There are countless marketing options to choose from that will improve your company’s brand awareness. To name a few, you can start a New Media campaign, hit the streets with a grass roots marketing effort, or simply send out a business letter to generate awareness about your products or services. Consumers don’t completely stop spending during a recessions or depressions, they just look for the best deals. It pays to be in front of them at these times with reasons your product or service makes sense.

In 2005 Penn State Smeal College of Business released the report, “Turning Adversity into Advantage: Does proactive marketing during a recession pay off?” The report described the three characteristics a business needs to succeed in a recession. After surveying 154 senior marketing execs they found that a business must:

1) Already value marketing.
2) Possess the willingness to take a risk and increase marketing.
3) Have additional resources to invest in extra marketing.

If you want your business to not only survive an economic slump but also thrive, you need to harness your entrepreneurial spirit and do everything you can to generate awareness.

3 Steps To Success In A Slowing Economy

You've most likely heard of the three things a business needs to be successful – location, location and location. However, during challenging economic times there is something else that is just as important – marketing, marketing and marketing.

When times get tough, it's more important than ever to generate awareness of your business. When times are good, the work never seems to stop and extra effort in marketing doesn't seem necessary. But in a sluggish market, those who successfully market their businesses will continue to attract customers while their competitors are slashing their marketing budgets and falling behind.

Here are a few basic tips to boost your marketing efforts without busting your budget:
1) Get Back To Basics – Now is the time to continue the successful marketing strategies that have worked in the past. 
2) Focus On Your Best Products/Services – Remember the 80/20 rule: 80% of profit comes from 20% of your products and/or services. Drop the ones that aren't producing and focus on the ones that are.
3) Focus On Service and Information – Customers are going to spend their dollars with those companies that provide good service and readily available information about the products and services they provide.

Don't let the economy slow your business down – speed it up with marketing, marketing and marketing.

Your Best Marketing Tool

The business card is one of the most recognized and widely used marketing tools. However, it is also the most under utilized. While networking, you should always have a stack on hand. This is the best way to get your contact information into the hands of those who potentially want to use your products or services. Sounds simple enough, but I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of digging around in our pockets looking for a business card only to end up writing our contact information on a napkin.

There are countless design configurations for a successful business card, but the basic rule is to make sure that your contact information is easy to read and easy to find. Your business card is the first glimpse many will have of your company’s brand and it’s important that your card represents your image well.

As your company’s staff grows, every person who hands out a business cards is further expanding your brand awareness. This seemingly insignificant two-inch by three-and-a-half-inch card can play a major role in helping your business becomes a recognized brand.

3 Quick Marketing Tips for 2008

Kick-start 2008 with these easy to implement marketing gems.

1 | A Signature Item That Stands Out

On average we send and receive 20 to 40 emails a day. That’s 6,000 to 12,000 a year – wow. It's pretty amazing when you stop to think about it. Why not use the opportunity to remind your customers or clients about your products and services. Simply place your unobtrusive, one-sentence reminder just below your signature, title and contact information. We recommend that you frequently change this tag-line to keep the area fresh and new.

2 | Voice Mail With A Message
When someone tries to call you and your voice mail picks up, this is a great place to say more than just your name and “please leave you name and number.” Add your company tag-line to the greeting or better yet, state what your company is all about in a clear-cut sentence. We’ve added to our voice mail, “Thank you for calling the Brian Thomas Wright Creative Group – providing design and marketing for your growing business. Please leave your name and number and we’ll be sure to call you right back. Thank you.” The perfect way to remind past, present and new clients who your are and what you do.

3 | Focus On Great Customer Service
The most inexpensive line item on any marketing plan is to provide excellent customer service. Trouble is that it can also be the hardest thing to do. As customers and clients become more and more demanding, it’s becoming harder then ever to be all things to everyone. So pick just one customer service item you want to improve and focus on improving it. You’ll soon find that staying consistent with that one focus will lead to excellent, consistent customer service all yearlong.