What You Must Do To Drive Sales in 2009!

January 13, 2009

OK, we all know that Canada and the USA are in a Recession?

The US economy still drives a lot of the world economy and if you run a business, you need to prepare to deal with reduced demand and some of the other things that go with an economic slowdown.

If the recession doesn't affect you, that's great but at least you are prepared.

Let's assume for a moment you want to not only succeed but thrive in 2009, what's the first thing you'll notice?

I've been through a few of these cycles and what is most noticeable are that there are fewer buyers. When there are fewer buyers, your marketing becomes even more critical to your success.

There are really only 3 reasons people don't buy:

• They don't want what you are selling.
• They can't afford what you are selling.
• They don't believe you.

In a recession fewer people want what you are selling because they are facing reduced demand for what they sell and are being careful about how they spend money.

Of course, if business is down many people can't afford what you are selling.

That being said, there are many things to do to position and market your company in the year to come? Assuming yours is a healthy company, here are our general recommendations.

1.  The Cumulative Power Of Marketing

The laws of marketing never change, even in a recession. In fact, if played correctly, they can compound in your favour. Marketing, in any economic environment, is about sustained and integrated activity.

Like the principle of compound interest, a little investment, applied consistently, will pay great dividends down the road. There are of course short term benefits – marketing assists in generating immediate sales – but the real power of your marketing program is cumulative. This cumulative effect drives awareness and ultimately preference in your service so, at the elusive time of need, your prospect thinks of you first.

A sustained marketing effort will help ensure that your pipeline is consistently replenished, leads are properly nurtured, and your market presence is maintained.

The advantages to continuing your marketing in uncertain economic times go far beyond simply maintaining the status quo. The reality is many of your competitors are going to pull back their marketing. As a result, your dollar is going to go further than it is now. Your share of voice will grow. This represents a great opportunity for forward looking firms that are committed to growth because there are still lots of buyers out there.

2.  The Reactionary Response

Many service firms automatically cut expenditures, and marketing is often on top of the list. It's an instinctive response to difficult economic conditions. Almost universally, this response will lead a company to have real trouble in the coming years, recession or no recession.

We can understand why firms think they need to cut back. The sensationalistic media attention given to the economy creates a quiet panic in all of us. We run all sorts of scenarios through our head: clients are going to brace for hard times... they will take longer to make purchases... perhaps they'll even cut service providers. As you think of sales cycles stretching, client retention diminishing, and project size shrinking, you may find yourself looking to cut costs.

Marketing is one of those initial costs that seem easy to reduce. It's hard to measure and you aren't quite sure if it's needed when it's time to hunker down. Why not cut it until things are looking up again? It's easy to justify: "We'll go full force once the market turns, it won't hurt a thing."

In addition to continuing to expand your marketing, surviving and thriving in a recession means that you have to get really good at:

• Focusing on identifying and finding your ideal prospects.
• Differentiating yourself from your competition.
• Fortifying Your Existing Relationships
• Being Creative in Your Marketing Mix

IDEAL PROSPECTS:

One of the first steps in marketing successfully is to understand who your ideal prospects are and diligently focus all of your efforts on selling only to them. This laser like focus results in greater return on your marketing dollars and efforts.

Unfortunately, very few businesses are clear about exactly who their target prospects should be and as a consequence waste time, money and effort chasing inappropriate prospects.

In an economic down cycle this can be disastrous. Businesses that were previously profitable in the good times, suddenly find themselves running out of cash as their marketing spend increases and their conversion rates fall.

In a recession there are always people who are buying, they are just harder to find and this becomes your challenge.

By definition Ideal Prospects have the need for what you sell and the means to pay for it. So if you know who they are and where to find them, life suddenly gets much easier. Identifying your Ideal Prospect is an analytical process based on your current client base.

Being clearly differentiated is always an important tool in attracting more of the right clients. When things are difficult, it's even more important as people want to deal with firms that can quickly and efficiently solve their problems.

Sometimes called your Ideal Prospects, these are the people or companies that have a recognized and compelling need for your products and services.

Recognized meaning that they are aware of, and ready to take action to solve their problem.  And compelling, meaning that they are actively searching for the solution.

Ask yourself, "where can we find large groups of 'these' prospects? Then commit to learning as much as possible about this group.

Depending on your business, you can also look for trigger events and start planning on how you can offer your products/services to companies who are going through change.

For example:

New Decision-Maker

Growth Plans

Lay-offs/Shut-Downs

Slow Downs

UNIQUE MARKETING IDENTITY

Having a clear identity that differentiates you from your competitors gives you a competitive advantage. It helps prospects understand why they should choose you and not your competition.

Developing a Unique Marketing Identity is both analytical and creative. You need to understand what your prospects want at a deeper level and then you have to creatively describe what you do in terms that immediately interest your prospects.

If you are not making the sales you want, which of the three reasons outlined here are the cause? These reasons are true even in non- recessionary times. Which ever you identify doesn't matter, there is a solution.

If they don't want what you are selling, you'll have to learn to find and attract more ideal prospects and you have to use your Unique Marketing Identity to show them why you are the logical choice.

If they can't afford what you are selling, again you'll have to learn to find more ideal prospects by better targeting your marketing activities.

BECOME AN EXPERT

Companies hire experts because they can't afford to make mistakes. Position your company as the expert with a specific product or in a specific market niche.

FORTIFY YOUR EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS

Successful business owners invest a lot of their time on this strategy.  You've heard it many times I'm sure, "it's quicker and less expensive to generate additional sales from your existing clients than it is to acquire new ones."

Take the time to meet with each of your clients and customers over lunch or coffee this month.  Find out what they are working on, what's keeping them up at night, and what they are looking for help with.  I once helped a client find a dog breeder.  Not my usual line of work, but he's still loyal to me today.  You gotta move mountains to be the one that solves their problem or helps them achieve their goals.

Consider a thank you gift or hosting a client appreciation event.  Be the one that lifts others from their doom and gloom thinking.

BALANCING YOUR MARKETING MIX

Instead of a boring old 'marketing mix' I like to think of my marketing activities as part of the one big pie that is my company.  Instead of focussing on only one or two marketing strategies, we employ between 8 and 12 at any given time.

This ensures that more of our Top Level Targets are reached through a variety of mediums. 

Its no surprise that people today are bombarded by over 30,000 marketing messages a day.  How are you supposed to get through?

By adding variety into your marketing vehicles and being consistent you will see better results.  Variety in delivery channels guarantees an increase when it comes to reaching and connecting with the right people, at the right time for them.

Consider adding strategies such as blogging, publishing an ezine, hosting a free seminar, telemarketing, getting media coverage, finding affiliates and strategic partners, or utilizing web advertising.

Evaluate your current activities and find ways to measure their effectiveness.  Ditch those strategies that aren't generating results while investing in new strategies with focus and enthusiasm.

I have a friend who fills her trunk with weather survival gear.  Umbrella, flashlight, blanket, tool box, charged cell phone, water, granola bars, heavy jacket, light jacket, running shoes, you name it.

I chuckle at her all the time - but the ironic part is that it's always her car I hope to be in when the weather changes.

Your company's marketing pie should be balanced with a variety of sales and marketing tactics.  If you follow all three strategies you'll be prepared to weather any economic climate.

As the Boy Scouts say, "Be Prepared"

The Facts

Study after study demonstrates why this is not wise. Keith Roberts, of PIMS Associates, found firms that increase their marketing spend during a recession actually grow significantly faster than firms that maintain or decrease their marketing spend.  Additionally, firms that invested more in marketing in a down market realized a 4.3% increase in their ROI. 

This compared to companies that maintained or cut their level of effort during the two years following a recession.

The study also pointed out that those who increased their marketing efforts during a recession gained market share three times faster in the two years following a recession than businesses that cut their marketing. While service firms don't play the market share game, this does illustrate the cumulative effect of marketing and the opportunity for advancement in a recession.

While the work PIMS did is compelling, it's hardly the only material on the subject:

• McGraw Hill found that business to business companies that maintained or increased their marketing during the 1981-82 recession grew during and after the recession at a far greater rate than those who didn't maintain or increase marketing spending.
• The research firm of Meldrum & Fewsmith studied all post World War II recessions and found that advertising aggressively during recessions not only increases sales but it also increases profits, and at a far greater rate than those firms that cut back.
• American Business Media found that maintaining share of mind during an economic downturn directly related to current and future sales and that maintaining share of mind costs much less than rebuilding it after a period of marketing inactivity.
• According to Coopers & Lybrand, marketing during a time of economic difficultly solidifies your client case, portrays you as stable, takes business away from less aggressive competitors and positions your firm well for post recession growth.

We could go on, but we're sure you get the point – this storyline, and the research behind it, is compelling.

The Silver Lining

As legendry ad man Ed McCabe puts it, "All great enterprises move forward in a recession, and the weaklings move back. The dumbbells cut back...the smart people don't."

Be one of the "smart people." Whether there will be or won't be a recession, maintaining a healthy marketing program will only build on what you have already developed. And maintaining and growing what you have toiled long and hard over requires careful planning, decisive execution, and plain old guts. Now more than ever the money you spend now on marketing matters. Not because dark times loom, but because there is real opportunity out there right now.

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Written by Marguerite Mcleod-Fleming of The Result Source.  To receive a copy of Marguerite’s whitepaper – Cold-Calling 2.0: The Next Generation of Prosecting – go to: http://www.theresultsource.com/coldcall20audio.html.  To contact Marguerite directly or request more information about her bootcamps, consulting, training or coaching programs, please contact her at: 416-366-6222 or at mmcleod@theresultsource.com.