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Atricle Dump - Smarter Marketing in a Slow Economy
The success of a business plan stands or falls on its ability to get potential investors to take a moment to read it. Nothing works better for doing this than well-written headlines designed to interrupt and engage investors. Here are five fundamental rules for writing and incorporating headlines into your business plan.More important than anything else, try to get investors’ self-interests into every headline you write. Make your headlines sugg
Join forces with a business selling complementary products and produce an offer to be sent to each others customers.
Check with publishers for 'remnant' space, and get on their list for last minute cancellations. Let them know you are interested. Have some standard advertising material prepared to use at short notice.
Shop around for production quotes. Look outside your usual suppliers.
Consider email marketing to maintain communication with customers. It's low cost and flexible.
Do you have a web site?
- How c
The recent news about one of America's most powerful woman ceo's being removed from office has raised the discussion about gender bias, again. It disappoints me that in 2005, I still hear women clients talking about "the old boys' network". They say "glass ceilings" are holding them back in terms of advancement, pay equity, recognition and career satisfaction. While I have no doubt their assessments are valid; it's important that we don't generalize too much. There
Marketing, when done properly, will attract customers to your business and convert their interest into paid sales - money in the till.
When the economy is slow many managers think, "Let's reduce expenses" and look for those expense items that seem to be irrelevant to achieving immediate sales. Marketing activities such as advertising, public relations, lead generation, research and sales incentives may be targeted.
However, history has shown that it is the companies who continue with aggressive, yet relevant, marketing during the slow times that are first to emerge when the economic tide turns. The continued marketing efforts maintain a premium position in the mind of their customers.
When their customers are ready to buy whom will they think of? The company they have heard from regularly and know about, or the company they dealt with many months ago and haven't heard from since (Are they are still in business? The customer wonders).
This isn't to say you shouldn't look for more economical marketing methods to squeeze as much value as possible out of scarce company resources. Quite the opposite! It is during slow economic times that you can often get the best advertising rates, the lowest prices for production, and the most attractive partnership deals. As other companies curtail their spending, suppliers and media owners are desperate to fill capacity. They are more willing than ever to secure regular customers.
When you consider your marketing options, seek lower cost (and more efficient) activities such as:
Look closely at cost per thousand for alternative media vehicles and carefully choose your target audience. Try to minimise waste.
Commit to a longer advertising campaign to lock-in a very low rate, and look for value-added opportunities for editorial, features or promotions that enhance your standing as a preferred advertiser.
Fine tune your media 'flights' to ensure you are reaching high worth customers at the most effective times. Cancel the fringe times.
Use smaller advertisements, but run them more frequently.
Incentivise your sales team to concentrate on new business.
Look for cost effective public relations exercises that will keep your product name in front of prospects. Work with partners in a win-win scenario.
Join forces with a business selling complementary products and produce an offer to be sent to each others customers.
Check with publishers for 'remnant' space, and get on their list for last minute cancellations. Let them know you are interested. Have some standard advertising material prepared to use at short notice.
Shop around for production quotes. Look outside your usual suppliers.
Consider email marketing to maintain communication with customers. It's low cost and flexible.
Do you have a web site?
- How ca
Every year about this time, I see too many accounting systems that don’t work… QuickBooks and PeachTree and Microsoft Small Business Accounting programs that don’t do what their small business users want or need.Sometimes, people know their accounting systems don’t work. And they don’t care. But, sadly, sometimes, the struggling small business person doesn’t even know his or her system isn’t working until it’s too late. Until the business fails because the own
However, history has shown that it is the companies who continue with aggressive, yet relevant, marketing during the slow times that are first to emerge when the economic tide turns. The continued marketing efforts maintain a premium position in the mind of their customers.
When their customers are ready to buy whom will they think of? The company they have heard from regularly and know about, or the company they dealt with many months ago and haven't heard from since (Are they are still in business? The customer wonders).
This isn't to say you shouldn't look for more economical marketing methods to squeeze as much value as possible out of scarce company resources. Quite the opposite! It is during slow economic times that you can often get the best advertising rates, the lowest prices for production, and the most attractive partnership deals. As other companies curtail their spending, suppliers and media owners are desperate to fill capacity. They are more willing than ever to secure regular customers.
When you consider your marketing options, seek lower cost (and more efficient) activities such as:
Look closely at cost per thousand for alternative media vehicles and carefully choose your target audience. Try to minimise waste.
Commit to a longer advertising campaign to lock-in a very low rate, and look for value-added opportunities for editorial, features or promotions that enhance your standing as a preferred advertiser.
Fine tune your media 'flights' to ensure you are reaching high worth customers at the most effective times. Cancel the fringe times.
Use smaller advertisements, but run them more frequently.
Incentivise your sales team to concentrate on new business.
Look for cost effective public relations exercises that will keep your product name in front of prospects. Work with partners in a win-win scenario.
Join forces with a business selling complementary products and produce an offer to be sent to each others customers.
Check with publishers for 'remnant' space, and get on their list for last minute cancellations. Let them know you are interested. Have some standard advertising material prepared to use at short notice.
Shop around for production quotes. Look outside your usual suppliers.
Consider email marketing to maintain communication with customers. It's low cost and flexible.
Do you have a web site?
- How c
Widespread research suggests that people do not leave organizations; they leave their managers. The implication of this finding is that managers who are respected and seen as supportive of the people who work with them are indispensable to successful organizations. Without them, competent people may leave their current organization in search of better treatment. The resultant costs of recruitment, engagement and subsequent retention can be enormous. Less tangible are
When you consider your marketing options, seek lower cost (and more efficient) activities such as:
Look closely at cost per thousand for alternative media vehicles and carefully choose your target audience. Try to minimise waste.
Commit to a longer advertising campaign to lock-in a very low rate, and look for value-added opportunities for editorial, features or promotions that enhance your standing as a preferred advertiser.
Fine tune your media 'flights' to ensure you are reaching high worth customers at the most effective times. Cancel the fringe times.
Use smaller advertisements, but run them more frequently.
Incentivise your sales team to concentrate on new business.
Look for cost effective public relations exercises that will keep your product name in front of prospects. Work with partners in a win-win scenario.
Join forces with a business selling complementary products and produce an offer to be sent to each others customers.
Check with publishers for 'remnant' space, and get on their list for last minute cancellations. Let them know you are interested. Have some standard advertising material prepared to use at short notice.
Shop around for production quotes. Look outside your usual suppliers.
Consider email marketing to maintain communication with customers. It's low cost and flexible.
Do you have a web site?
- How c
When I was a child, there was a pool nearby and every year my parents bought us season tickets. My brother and I swam there everyday. One day we were swimming the length of the pool underwater. As I came up at the edge of the pool gasping for air, the lifeguard was there to meet me. He asked if my brother and I would join the swim team. We were so excited; we talked about it for days.The next few weeks we prepared for competition. That day arrived and
Commit to a longer advertising campaign to lock-in a very low rate, and look for value-added opportunities for editorial, features or promotions that enhance your standing as a preferred advertiser.
Fine tune your media 'flights' to ensure you are reaching high worth customers at the most effective times. Cancel the fringe times.
Use smaller advertisements, but run them more frequently.
Incentivise your sales team to concentrate on new business.
Look for cost effective public relations exercises that will keep your product name in front of prospects. Work with partners in a win-win scenario.
Join forces with a business selling complementary products and produce an offer to be sent to each others customers.
Check with publishers for 'remnant' space, and get on their list for last minute cancellations. Let them know you are interested. Have some standard advertising material prepared to use at short notice.
Shop around for production quotes. Look outside your usual suppliers.
Consider email marketing to maintain communication with customers. It's low cost and flexible.
Do you have a web site?
- How c
I don’t recall exactly how many girls turned me down when I asked them to the senior prom, but there were a few. Even though that was 25 years ago, I still remember how much I wished I was one of “the beautiful people”. Today, I’m glad I wasn’t. When I finally made it to the major leagues of my industry, two things immediately struck me.The first was how accepting everyone was. People were amazingly supportive and oddly non-competitive. I later realized this c
Join forces with a business selling complementary products and produce an offer to be sent to each others customers.
Check with publishers for 'remnant' space, and get on their list for last minute cancellations. Let them know you are interested. Have some standard advertising material prepared to use at short notice.
Shop around for production quotes. Look outside your usual suppliers.
Consider email marketing to maintain communication with customers. It's low cost and flexible.
Do you have a web site?
- How can you use it to generate leads more cost effectively?
- Can you use it for communication with customers, product releases, newsletters etc?
Approach potential partners that you thought were previously unattainable. Their approach may be more flexible now.
Target customers of the opposition. Let them know you are still going strong and want their business.
Maintain your market presence during the slow times and you will be on top of the 'wave' when the market picks up. The multiplier effect of this situation can be quite astounding, ensuring your company has a real head start in the strengthening economy.
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