Maximising the impact of your marketing in the credit crunch

Ten Ideas for Marketing in a Recession
by John Hicks of Headline Promotions, Press and Public Relations

Even the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, is now using the “R” word. Yes, Recession is here! I fully believe that, because of it, just about every business and organisation out there is having to cut back on expenditure in some areas of activity, become more efficient, and more effective with their spend.

It’s nothing new, we are always being asked to do that, but this time it’s serious. It hasn’t been this serious since the 2001 Dot Com bust.

I was with a client earlier this week and we were brainstorming a marketing strategy for this recession and I was asked for my top ten ideas for marketing through these stormy seas. I thought I would share them with you.

1. Existing customers are key: In times of economic uncertainty, when budgets are getting cut back, people buy from who they know. This means you’ve got to engage with the customer base more frequently and deeply than ever before. Look at your communications strategy for customers remembering that it is far more expensive to attract new customers than it is to retain existing ones.

2. Supplier relationships. You will have already looked with your suppliers at ways of cutting costs and/or improving service. You will have already reviewed your purchasing policies and procedures to ensure maximum value. Now look for opportunities to work with them on joint promotions, joint marketing and advertising including newspaper and radio advertorials, links to and from their website or other ways in which you can help each other. These other ways might include attending trade fairs together or setting up regional/local seminars, workshops or exhibitions. Now is the time to be creative whilst limiting exposure to costs!

3. Joint ventures. Try and look for new working relationships. I was talking to a manufacturer who was seeking marketing advice. I talked myself out of the job because the solution was actually to go out and license the product to an existing High Street retailer who has the outlets and sales volume. I was lucky enough to develop a working relationship with a management consultancy and they introduce clients to me, and vice versa. No cost to either of us!

4. Measure Everything: Know what works, and what doesn’t, and stop what doesn’t. We do this in normal times but the pressure is now on to do it as effectively as we possibly can. I was working with my client Sunset Lingerie http://www.sunsetlingerie.co.uk/ and during the last few months we found that 36,000 hits were from people in the US. Result? We established a US mirror image site with US graphics, US sizes and priced in dollars. A low cost attempt to capitalise on the reality of who is using their website meant that they have an additional income stream.

5. Invest in Communications: Communications becomes a high ROI tactic in tough times. Use it! Make sure your PR firm is using all the social media tools at your disposal to get your message out. If you don’t have a PR firm then start a FaceBook page, start a blog, brand a You Tube channel, create a corporate page on Next2Friends http://www.next2friends.com/ and develop some viral content. Its low cost and it works. Use your PR firm to also push out some articles across the web to help raise your profile and make it easier for people to find you. And, do not forget to get out there! Be seen at trade fairs, have a stand at the local xmas fayre, donate a prize to the childrens ward xmas party, whatever is appropriate. It needn’t costs much money at all. Look at the Chicago Rock Cafe promotional car in the photograph above, this cost nothing! Yet, the profile of the venue was raised significantly over the twelve months of the sponsorship deal from the local Chrylser dealership!

6. Data is king. Review both your data and the way it is collected and maintained. Ensure that the collection system is comprehensive and that it is kept up to date. Unless you are a government agency or department, where it is normal to lose confidential data on a train or left in a highly visible briefcase on the back seat of our car ready to be easily stolen by the first thief walking past, you must ensure that we comply with the strict requirements of the Data Protection legislation. Do not abuse that data. If you need more data, for direct mail shots or telesales campaign, buy some in. It is not that expensive and is an invaluable tool.

7. Your website. Increasingly, customers are using websites to find suppliers and find the best deals. Look at your website with fresh eyes, does it work, does it say what you want it to say, do you need special offers at this time, are your Unique Selling Points prominent? Also review with your webmaster is the Search Engine Optimisation is working its best. Check if you have plenty of links to and from your site. Look at opportunities to generate new income from affiliate scheme or advertising. I sold some adverts on some of my websites for $30 a year, not big bucks but that is money I didn’t have before and it took me five minutes to drop them into my sites. In addition, I now have another new business contact that I might be able to develop a new working relationship with.

8. Internal communication. When senior managers are under pressure, it is too easy to stop listening to colleague or communicating back to them. Make sure that your internal communications, even if just using simple email systems, are working. In particular, make sure you are listening to customer facing staff so that you are hearing the feedback they are getting from your customers.

9. Have a Strategy. Strategy is about sacrifice and if everything is a priority then nothing is a priority. Make it a living, breathing, document that you share widely with colleagues even if some commercially sensitive areas are withheld. Let the staff feel part of this process. Revisit it regularly and update it in the light of practical experience.

10. Business networking. I hate business networking events, even the better ones from Business Link, as I have never met anyone either sensible or someone I really would like to business with. They wasted my time. The best forum for meeting like minded business people that I have found is online at We Can Do Biz http://www.wecando.biz/ and membership is free. I guess what I like about it most is that the business people on there are friendly, helpful and business community minded!

And remember to create your own networks. The photo above was taken at a Recruitment Fair for Chicago Rock Cafe in Yeovil. I simply went round the town inviting retailers and other employers to have a free stand at a recruitment open day. The local newspaper sponsored it and gave us plenty of free advertising as a result. The exhibitors put out flyers in their stores or factories so Chicago Rock received plenty of positive PR. I made new business contacts. Chicago Rock also won some Christmas party bookings from the exhibitors. Cost? Nothing!!!

I’m sure there are lots of ideas about marketing in a recession. Please share a few with me as I surely could use all the help I can get, and let’s share it with others!

But, more importantly, have the faith to remember that these things are cyclical. Those of us with grey hairs have seen this before and prudent financial and business planning now will put us in good stead to be there at the end ready for the upturn.


You can read John’s blog on marketing for small businesses at www.headlinepromotions.blogspot.com or visit his website at www.headlinepromotions.co.uk