Internet Marketing- It's Still Marketing

The key to (successful) marketing in a recession.

 

It seems that everyone is talking about investing more in marketing during a recession. Since early 2008, leading bloggers and organizations have been telling businesses that they should be spending more on marketing in a recession. On the surface, these seems like sound advice when you look at some of the obvious factors.

Obvious factor #1: The competition is cutting back- it's a great time to gain market share.

Obvious factor #2: Customers are shopping around, they are more willing to switch.

Obvious factor #3: With a recession, costs decrease- including advertising costs. You get more for your advertising dollar.

All pretty simple and sound advice, unfortunately not everyone sees the obvious logic and still operates out of fear. Not so much fear to spend money as they are afraid that they will not get it back. And they are not entirely wrong.

Why? Because it is not enough to spend the money and advertise more. Companies that are truly successful with their marketing in a down economy have one thing in common.

In March 2008, the Harvard Business School Online listed 8 factors that companies should keep in mind when planning their marketing. The first one? Customer research.

Likewise, with a post in February 2008 BNET talked about whether or not companies should increase their marketing during a recession. The final word? Those who are ultimately successful are those that operate from customer intelligence.

See the common thread here? The key to successful marketing during a recession is to understand the changing needs of your customers. Companies who are focused on the customer mindset understand what to say to them in a recession because they know and understand what their customers are most concerned about. It is not about spending more, it is about understanding your customer more and building a brand of value. (And by the way, value does not mean lowest price- but we will save that for our next blog post- stay tuned...)

Here is another hint- this is not just relative in a recession (it is just even more important!).

It is too late to start? No, it is never to late to improve your brand and empathize with your customer. But if you want to be in a position for growth, then start  investing now. Right now. And don't stop there. The internet offers companies new opportunities to build their brands and interact with their customers. Internet marketing takes the guesswork out marketing with analytics and new mediums like social media. Realizing return on investment is not hit or miss.

How will you build your brand in the coming age of growth? Will you ride the wave or drown in it?

 

Social Media-Do's & Don't

 

A recent Washington Post article by Michelle Singletary was published in my local Sunday paper's business section titled "Watch What you Tweet". It caught my attention not only because I knew right away what the article was about, but also because it was posted in the BUSINESS section of the paper.

In summary, the article talks about the dangers of posting too much private information online. I have joked with some Facebook followers that it makes the jobs of stalkers and identity thieves all that much easier- but in reality that is exactly true.

To protect your private information, reputation, personal liability, and job prospects, here is a short list of DON'T (s):

• Reveal your birthday (I rather they guess by my picture anyway)
• Reveal any information that you might use as a security answer. (such as pet name, mother's maiden name, etc)
• Trash talk, bad mouth, or post that drunken photo of you at the frat party. (Yes, all you college students and grads- employers will look at and consider this information.)
• Post derogatory comments or threatening notes about others. You may think you are just venting- but you can be named in a costly defamation lawsuit, no matter how silly. Keep your conflicts (with neighbors, bosses, co-workers, clients, etc) private.Post when you will be out of town or on vacation. (Empty house= easy target)

So are the benefits of these social media networks for business branding, identity and promotion worth the risk? When is it too much information and how do you know if it is even worthwhile?

First, a few examples of DO's for social media:

• Are you a consultant who needs to establish credibility and a reputation of expertise? Tweet new posts on your blog, recent trainings you are giving (or receiving), set up a Facebook page where your clients can interact socially.
• Are you a restaurant owner who needs to publish the daily specials to your regular customers? Tweet the specials at a regular time each day so your followers know what & when to expect it.
• Are you holding or attending a special event, trade show and want to see some traffic? Yes, you guessed it- post the event on Facebook, promote it through Twitter= create a stir.
• Are you job hunting? Create a LinkedIn account to serve as your interactive online resume. Monitor (and yes- censor!) your Facebook account to make sure you are not tagged in those wild party photos. And I know it would seem common sense- but don't swear or use deragatory language.

In short, determing the value of any internet initiative is going to be determined by your busines goals and how you measure and manage it. So before you can answer whether the benefit is worth the perceived risk and time, you have to know how it will play into your business goals and objectives.

 

From the mouths of babes...

 

Are taglines like:

"Just Do It"

or

"Life Comes at You Fast"

a thing of the past?

So my question is simple- in the new age of marketing (ie: Web 2.0, social media, blogging, Tweeter, Facebook, etc...et al) is there still a place for traditional marketing tactics? Can the right tagline make a difference in branding and having your customers remember you before your competition?

A few days ago my answer would have been yes, there is still a place for traditional marketing in this new age of marketing, but it's place will be different, have a slightly altered role.

Then earlier today my husband was rear-ended, possibly totaling our new (gulp- yes, I am admitting it and putting it out there for all the world to see)...minivan (god- that was painful).

Anyway, after making sure everyone was ok and figuring out what to do next, we sat around the table with our store bought frozen pizza dinner with the kids. My youngest comments on the nights events with one simple statement:

"Well mom, life sure does come at you fast!"

And I paused, and thought- where have I heard that before? And when I realized it was the tagline for my insurance company, I laughed, turned to my son and asked him, what made you say that? His response? "I dunno, it just popped into my head."

So I wonder, when my insurance company came up with that tagline to resonate with it's potential customers- was a 10 year old part of their target market?

So what do you think- target on or target off?

Oh, and for those of you who are dying to know- yes, we will be getting another minivan.