EBlog

“We’re Not In a Recession” Marketing Ideas for You to Ponder

October 6, 2008 | Posted by: Christine

Think Measurable and Stay Visible 

We may not be in an official recession, but let’s face it our buyers are acting as if we are.  Which leads directly to the CEO / CFO tag team getting all fired up about NOT SPENDING any money on marketing.   You know and we know that now is the time to stay visible - make sure your buyer remembers you when it comes time to make a buy decision.   With that in mind we want to share a few things for you ponder as you think about what to do in Q4 of this wondrous 2008.

Josh Bernoff, Analyst, Forrester, published a paper in February titled Strategies for Interactive Marketing In A Recession - guess he got the memo.  In it (note - it is free of charge) he advocates that “Social Applications in particular, such as communities and social networking sites, are cost-effective and have a measurable impact on prospects’ decisions in the consideration stage, which will be important to companies under recessionary pressures."  Great advice and we agree. 

Here are a few more tips from EB on how you can stay visible:

»         Stalk Old Friends – target your customers and your house list with a series of ongoing communications.  Who easier to sell to than people who already know you.

»         Make New Friends – engage in a community already talking about products like yours and participate in the conversation by adding relevant…read not sales…content.

»         Try Something Fresh – Go viral, post on YouTube, start Twittering.  The point is get out of the same old way of thinking and approach your buyer from a new perspective.

»         Make an offer they can’t refuse – bottom line, your buyer is looking for relevant content that informs them and doesn’t try to sell them.  Give it to them, and make it free.  

 Bottom line is this- whether we are or are not in a recession is not the point.  Your executive team is likely looking to cut budget, and marketing is almost always on firing line.  We vote for more focus on ROI and staying visible.    We'd love to know how things are going inside your organization, tell us what your "we're not really in a recession" marketing tips.