Careful Spending Should Be Your Norm

During soft economic times, customers are more cautious, value-conscious and cost driven. They engage in more product and services comparisons before purchasing. Bringing them fresh ideas can be one of your key retention strategies. If you don’t, your competitors will.

Marketing leaders owe it to their company to make sure marketing investments are focused on realistic goals and mechanisms for achieving them. It’s important to maintain connections with past and prospective customers throughout all economic cycles – ups and downs.

Energizing your customers – getting them charged up and talking about your products or services – should be done consistently in any economic condition. Determine what your customers are looking for and focus your attention there, such as engaging customers online with great content and experiences.

There’s a lot of negativity about the state of the market right now. All markets fluctuate. Economic cycles come and go. But retreating in your marketing efforts is a huge error. The challenge is how to leverage your brand and connect with your customers. Your top priority is to invest time in putting together a powerful and flexible marketing strategy and plan that you can focus on, follow and carry out.

Are You Shifting to More Online Marketing?

If your marketing and communications plan is not shifting toward more online communications, you are not fully connecting with your customers.

The best way to do this is to take an integrated marketing and communications approach. You must invest in a strong Web presence. It means integrating your offline channels (such as print advertising, direct mail, public relations, outdoor and broadcast) with online channels (such as e-marketing campaigns, Website search engine optimization, pay-per-click, banner ads, webinars, blogs, RSS, video). Integrate the various elements of the mix to maximize competitive advantage for your brand. You need to understand and harness digital platforms.

Proper integration of online media adds depth and measurement to your programs. It makes you more accessible to your customers. And, accessibility is an important key to marketing in today’s business environment. You also have to make sure that you understand how your services and products are researched and found, and serve as a resource to people who are in search of information.

To successfully maintain your brand in today’s online world, your brand marketing and communications need to be relationship-based, taking advantage of search marketing, social media, lead nurturing and online communities. Learn which channels and mediums provide maximum exposure for your messages and deliver the most for the dollars you are spending.