|
|
4 Easy Ways to Get Free Marketing Exposure
Are there really ways you can get valuable marketing exposure without spending any money? You bet there are. The trick to uncovering these methods is to think of creative ways you can get your products or services in front of, or in the hands of,...
How To Measure and Improve Site Success, Part 1: Plan and Evaluate Marketing Programs
Measuring and understanding your Web site's success is a critical process that is sometimes overlooked. Many times, marketing efforts stop at getting traffic to the site. Traffic alone, however, does not make a site successful. By "connecting the...
Overview On Qualitative Data Collection Techniques In International Marketing Research
This article is meant to be a brief review and reminder of some valuable yet often bypassed techniques to collect data on international markets and consumers. When thinking of market research, surveys are most likely the first technique that comes...
The Psychology of Color in Marketing
Market researchers have had a field day identifying the colors and the likely effect they have upon us. However, the effects of color differ among different cultures, so the attitudes and preferences of your target audience should be a consideration...
The Top 10 Marketing Tools to Grow Your Business in 2004
Looking to grow your business? Make sure you have these marketing tools in place: #10 A powerful tagline In 10 words or less, a good tagline reinforces a company’s reason for being. And smaller companies will find it to be one of the hardest...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recovery Marketing – Hop on and Take a Ride
A little over a year ago and probably before, articles started popping up all over the place about, "Selling in Tough Times," , "How To Market in a Down Economy," and the like. Now that we have seen a few, more positive headlines starting to sprinkle throughout, "Turning the Economical Corner,", "Have We Hit Bottom,", what now? For the sake of prognostication, let me review. No I am not driving the car by only looking in the rear view mirror. When times got tough, managers all over the place looked for places to cut costs. Marketers looked for newer places to sell and to sell more. Some business managers cut marketing and sales expenses. Let me state here, once and very clearly, that is the WRONG thing to do. Jay Conrad Levinson of guerrilla marketing fame says that "recessionary marketing" is a real opportunity. Bear with me on this review as we approach some new thoughts on "recovery marketing." During tough times, customers are looking for real value. Effective marketing points out that real value to customers with the ensuing result of increased sales and increased share of market. What Jay Levinson state for "recessionary marketing" applies to "turning –the-corner-and-coming-back" marketing, or "recovery marketing" as well; maybe even more. During recovery, lots of positioning is occurring, while at the same time skeptics are still about. During recovery some people choose as their favorite form of transportation to be hopping on to a bandwagon. Once the bandwagon fills up, companies look around at each other and start to feel that it is almost too late to start up aggressive marketing once again. The same old adage applies to marketing much like it does to work… "It's easier to keep it up than catch it up." Borrowing from "recessionary marketing" and applying the same mind set, thought processes and applications to recovery marketing, will further separate the marginal companies from the successful ones. Recovery marketing boils down to investing in the three things that should have been invested in when times got tough. 1.)increase the size of orders 2.)increase the frequency of orders 3.)The third item, but more costly is to increase the number of customers you sell to.
Enhanced marketing programs and increased investment in marketing accomplishes the above items. Free samples, seminars, consulting, and speeches, are incentives for the customer to buy more and to do it more often. Now is the time to put that marketing line item expense back into the budget. Prioritize 3 recovery marketing initiatives now, don't deviate and certainly don't cut the expense or investment that is made. We'll leave the concepts of consistency, persistency and long term thinking to other marketing articles. Here are a few recovery tactics that will help your positioning as customers and prospects decide where to spend their growing dollars earned from a recovering economy. Publicity – If you don't already have a PR program in place, start one now. There are a multitude of reasons to write a press release. Focus on one editor and get something published. This is free marketing and an effective technique that shows up in all the "marketing in tough times"
articles.
Current Customer Attention – The best prospect is a current customer. This is true whether we are marketing in a recession or in a recovery or in a boom. Pay them the proper amount of attention. Prioritize them and see how far into their account you can gain share. Share of customer is always a priority and will help focus marketing efforts in a recovery.
Increase Networking – Referral programs and word of mouth marketing are still low cost associated with a high success rates. There are ways to enhance this but you have to put yourself in front of the potential buyer in some fashion or another or have someone else do it for you.
Repackage your products and services as bundles or higher ticket items. This certainly attains that goal of selling more per order. Customers that have stuck with you through thick and thin will probably spend more also in times of recovery.
Spend some money – invest in that direct mail program that you've been putting off. Send that new brochure to customers and prospects. Sometimes positive talk about "preparing for the recovery" is very contagious. You'd be surprised what kind of mindset you can create in your own market. These are a few things to get you back on track if you cut that marketing expense (and want to beat the bandwagon hoppers) and want to ride the recovery wave. I can't wait to write the next article in this series about "Marketing In Boom Times!"
Alfred J. Lautenslager is an award winning marketing/PR consultant, direct mail promotion specialist and entrepreneur. His businesses have helped hundreds succeed in their own businesses. Armed with an MBA, Al has successfully progressed through all facets of business. He has an impressive record that includes effective financial and sales planning, market development, a consistent growth in sales and profits above industry standards, resource management, product development, marketing management and overall general management. He is a professional speaker on marketing and related topics, the principal of Market For Profits, a marketing consulting firm in Chicago, and also the president and owner of The Ink Well, a commercial printing and mailing company in Wheaton, IL. He is a featured marketing and PR expert on numerous website publications including the online version of Entrepreneur Magazine and is on the Small Business Panel for USA Today. His leadership has extended to his involvement into the community, is on the board of directors of five non-profit organizations including the DuPage County Workforce Investment Board and The Community Career Center in Naperville , IL. . Al is also a business partner with two area school districts. . Al can be reached through the websites at www.market-for-profits.com and www.1-800-inkwell.com or at al@market-for-profits.com. Al invites everyone to Sign up for his FREE REPORT: 50 PEOPLE TO INSTANTLY ADD TO YOUR NETWORK, and receive a free value- packed online newsletter entitled MARKET FOR PROFITS Just click here: http://www.market-for-profits.com/free_report.htm or Click here for the Market For Profits Home Page: http://www.market-for-profits.com
About the Author
Alfred J. Lautenslager al@market-for-profits.com
|
|
|
|
|
KnowThis: For Marketing, Market Research, Internet Marketing ... |
KnowThis.com offers a wealth of information, forums, and resources for professionals, academics and students in traditional and internet marketing, ... |
www.knowthis.com |
  |
Marketing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and informal, ... The next big thing is a concept in marketing that refers to a product or idea that ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
  |
Marketing - Marketing Strategy - Marketing Plan - Marketing ... |
Learn about marketing careers, the stages of developing a marketing plan, how to begin marketing research, create a marketing strategy, and how to market ... |
marketing.about.com |
  |
Marketing.org - Home of the Business Marketing Association |
Serves the professional, educational and career development needs of business-to-business marketers. |
www.marketing.org |
  |
Welcome - American Marketing Association - www.marketingpower.com |
Dedicated to serving the educational and professional needs of marketing executives. |
www.marketingpower.com |
  |
Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR News - Brand Republic |
Find the latest Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR news from Brand Republic, the online resource for up to the minute advertising and marketing news and ... |
www.brandrepublic.com |
  |
Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic |
Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic. |
www.brandrepublic.com |
  |
Marketing (Canada) |
Offers a Canadian source of news and articles on marketing, advertising and media. |
www.marketingmag.ca |
  |
BidVertiser - Pay Per Click Advertising On Sites Of Your Choice. |
Pay per click advertising - online advertising directly on sites of your choice, internet marketing solution for online advertisers. |
www.bidvertiser.com |
  |
Online Behavioral Contextual Advertising and Marketing. |
Promote your business with today's most effective online advertising technology, contextual advertising at a cost effective metric of CPC, PPC, CPM or CPV. |
www.clicksor.com |
  |
Sales Jobs / Marketing Jobs / Advertising Jobs - MarketingJobs.com |
Employment site for marketing and sales professionals. |
www.marketingjobs.com |
  |
The Chartered Institute of Marketing |
The Chartered Institute of Marketing is the world's largest international marketing professional body and helps with career support and information ... |
www.cim.co.uk |
  |
Marketing: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
See all blog posts tagged with marketing on Technorati. |
www.technorati.com |
  |
Marketing Profs - Marketing Concepts and Strategies: Expert ... |
Marketing knowhow from professionals. Newsletter, articles and how-to's. |
www.marketingprofs.com |
  |
Guerrilla Marketing Online - The Official Site |
Guerrilla Marketing Online is anonline magazine for small business, entrepreneurs, sales people and marketers of all kinds. |
www.gmarketing.com |
  |
Business Marketing - Small Business Marketing |
Business marketing - Read everything your need to know about small business marketing. |
www.entrepreneur.com |
  |
All About Marketing |
Adapted from Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation ... Inbound Marketing Includes Market Research to Find Out: ... |
www.managementhelp.org |
  |
Pages tagged with "marketing" on del.icio.us |
USA Network Announces a NASHVILLE STAR Marketing Partnership With ... - Yahoo! ... Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing ... |
del.icio.us |
  |
ClickZ Internet Marketing Solutions for Marketers |
Includes columns with commentary and analysis on a wide variety of internet marketing subjects ranging from B2B marketing to search engine marketing. |
www.clickz.com |
  |
Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing |
Trade association for users and suppliers in the direct, database and interactive marketing fields, offering seminars and resources, and lobbying for ... |
www.the-dma.org |
  |
|