Marketing in a Recession

Every business goes through a typical life cycle of introduction, growth, maturation and decline.

Often this is a 10-year cycle depending on the product or service and the communication strategy should coincide with that phase.

For example, introduction is all about innovation, growth is all about competitiveness, maturation is about retention and then it’s about refreshing the brand when it is in decline. To complicate matters, however, it is equally important to consider some the following ten points for success during a recession:

1. Know who your best customers are and guard them with everything you have. If you don’t know who your best customers are then find out fast.

2. Know what they buy and what generates the highest profit margin. Give them personal one-on-one attention no matter how much effort it takes.

3. Give attention to finding customers who are ready to buy. Search engine optimization and lead generation sources versus a direct mail campaign. Which one more effectively targets the consumer ready to buy today?

4. Tighten up your budget across channels but without eliminating branding altogether by focusing only on calls to action.

5. Spend money on public relations more than ever.

6. Incorporate your publicity into every form of advertising you do, period. Consumers need to know they can trust you more than ever and frankly they are distrustful of big business and grandiose claims…publicity goes a long way to achieving the credibility you need.

7. Use price promotions sparingly. Customers need to know you have staying power and that you are not desperate.

8. Measure and track performance for offers and products/services that generate the most profit. Create messages around them accordingly.

9. Cross-promote with other brands or attach your brand to a valued and trusted company. Be creative and think beyond the expected.

10. Call every one of your best customers and thank them. Don’t try to sell them anything…just thank them; they’ll be glad you did and you’ll be glad to keep them.

Flying takes courage

Go for the Gold

Ok, here’s my first blog post. Social media gets a new voice in all the chatter. And the first thing I have to write about is a fairly controversial subject, yay me.

The question is: What to do when you discover that your client is unethical. You love the product, you love the value proposition and you love the possibility of the brand. However, time and again the client displays questionable and borderline unethical conduct. You know you have to let them go. You are faced with the dilemma of whether to be honest about the reasons or simply tell them it’s not working out. No matter how smart I think I am, I believe there is no one smarter than “all of us.” So, in these cases, I like to reach out to a trusted colleague to check in with my instincts. Charlotte Risch, owner of The Media Push (visit her blog), is one such colleague. Her advice is “less is more.” She says it is her nature to be upfront and honest, and depending on how well she knows a client will determine her approach. Though she would handle the issue on a case-by-case basis, generally she would tell the client that, given choices they have made, she feels that it is best that each party move on. “Keep it simple, keep it clean and move on.” Good advice.

What impresses me the most about Charlotte is how she balances honesty with grace.

Doing the right thing is important to me, no matter how cliche that tenet. Doing the right thing always leads to something better. The very same day I gave the client the boot, I signed an even better deal with an even more prestigious new client.

The theme this past week in Beijing is about courage, integrity, and determination to be the best. The Olympic spirit should fold into our own lives, every day.

With that, the moral of the story: it takes courage to fly.

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