Seven Valuable Tips for Marketing During a Recession
by Reid M. Neubert

Whether we call it a downturn or use the “R” word, the media are full of it … talk of an economic slowdown, that is. In fact, while working on this article, the February 18 issue of Fortune magazine arrived, and on the cover it says, "Now What? Markets are crazy, the outlook is dicey, but there are plenty of ways to profit, if you keep your cool." Great advice!

Seize the Opportunity
Often, in this environment, the first budget to be cut is the marketing budget. But, that has never made any sense: If you are afraid business will decline, why on earth would you cut your lead generation budget?!

Keep your cool. Don't go conservative and cut, cut, cut. Companies that maintain their marketing and advertising during dicey economic times increase their sales, their brand recognition, and their longer-term market share. It's a fact. A number of studies validate this.

Take advantage of the opportunity a downturn can offer to gain ground on the competition. While competitors are reacting to short-term business conditions by cutting their marketing and advertising, openings are created for smarter companies. By staying visible, you can move ahead.

When companies hide their heads in the sand, we tend to forget about them. "Out of sight, out of mind" is so true. If we think of them at all, we may assume they are out of business or not doing well. In the meantime, the companies that maintain their presence and remain highly visible can increase market share.

Time to Work Smarter – Seven Tips
So, how can you be smarter about your marketing and maintain your visibility? Here are seven ways you can fine tune your marketing to get better results, even with a tighter budget:

1. Narrow your target markets
To make the best use of a reduced marketing budget, tightly define your best target market(s) and focus your marketing on them. Simply said, if you find that dentists use more of your widgets than doctors, concentrate your marketing on dentists.

It is much less costly to market and advertise into a defined market segment – a vertical market – than a broad market. If you run advertising, your media costs will be a fraction of what they were in trying to reach a broader market. It is also easier to get stories and articles placed in vertical-market publications.

2. Sharpen your message
Once you have focused in on your best market(s), make sure the message they hear is the right one. Simplify and hone your message specifically for that target market. Leave behind the generalities. They never helped anyway, so now is the time to edit them out.

Make sure your marketing copy telegraphs your primary message and reinforces your brand image. Make sure you are telling dentists about the main benefits dentists get from your widgets. And make sure you are telling them in a way that makes sense to dentists.

3. Tune up your Web site
Make sure your Web site is up to date and makes the right impression on visitors. Prospects may be fewer, but they are still buying, and that process starts on the Web. If your company tends to say, "We have a Web site, but we're not sure it's doing anything for us," that is a danger sign! This means people who visit your Web site aren't going further and contacting you! Your site needs help, and fast, because it is losing you business.

In your tune-up, make sure your Web site does three things. First, it should help prospects find your site through an Internet search. You've heard of search engine optimization (SEO), I'm sure. This is what that is. Second, your site must do a great job presenting your brand online. This is often the first experience people have of your company, and you want them to get the right impression about the company and the value of your brand. Third, it must explain your product's or service's features and benefits … from the prospects' perspective. See my previous article on "The Curse of Knowledge" for common problems here.

4. Be consistent across media
Make sure that your Web site, literature, advertising, presentations and all are ruthlessly consistent. This is perhaps best illustrated with a negative example. Let’s say a dentist sees an ad for your widgets and visits your Web site for more information. When she goes online she finds little similarity between your ad and your Web site. Instead of making a positive brand impression, this lack of consistency creates uncertainty, which both dilutes your brand and throws a wrench into the decision process. This can send her off to find other companies that have clearer Web sites.

5. Assess new markets for opportunities
You may discover that while dentists currently buy most widgets today, optometrists are just discovering that widgets can save them money. The dental market may be fairly saturated with widgets now, while the optometry market is wide open. If you can’t afford to market to both, it could be wiser to focus on the new, untapped market. By shifting your marketing to optometrists, you will lose market share in the dental market, but you have a chance to own the optometry market.

6. Make your marketing is dual purpose
Traditionally, marketing has usually been either aimed primarily at immediate sales or at brand building. An ad for shampoo is intended to get people to buy a bottle on their next shopping trip. This is sales-oriented advertising. Brand advertising is principally meant to reinforce the brand image of the company or product and build its perceived worth.

To save on costs, make sure that the marketing and advertising you do is both brand and sales oriented. That can be a bit tricky, but it's entirely do-able.

7. Don't becoming the cut-rate king
When business is off it is tempting to slash prices to boost sales. It may, in fact, be necessary to lower prices. Just be very careful how you do it. Again, don’t let short-term thinking jeopardize your long-term prospects.

If your marketing becomes all about what your SALE PRICES, then that is how you become known. The perceived value of your products or services is diminished. And don't forget, perception is reality. When business picks up again, you may well find that the only way to maintain your sales is to continue offering hefty discounts. Your short-term tactic ends up making yours the discount brand.

Instead, if you continue to emphasize your main selling proposition and reinforce the value of what you offer, then you can say, “Oh, by the way, we are offering our widgets at a special price right now.” With this strategy you continue to strengthen your brand while boosting current sales.

Copyright 2008 by Reid M. Neubert. All rights reserved.