Marketing Even When The Economy Is Down

Everybody is feeling the crunch. The economic slowdown is forcing a lot of businesses to close down. No industry has been spared from this viciousness of what marketers call the worst economic slowdown since the last World War.

Is there a glimpse of hope? How will you survive these times?

As a business owner, the challenge for you, although overwhelming, is to stay liquid. Liquidity is the key to successfully staying afloat in this turbulent time. Liquidity allows you opportunities even at a time when credit is hard to find. The challenge then is how you ensure liquidity. The answer - to continue doing good business.

Marketing is still the best solution to good business. By continuing effective marketing efforts like catalog printing, flyer printing, or brochure printing, businesses can thrive even when there is a slowdown.

While feeling a bit of the crunch, here are a few tips on how you can maximize output with minimum inputs:

Focus. Gone were the days when you can splurge on marketing tools like catalog printing or flyer printing. Today, the challenge is for you to focus on your target. Seek out a specific target market and focus on them. Mind you however, that you also have to create market segments which means focusing only on your highest-value customers. You focus on high-value customers because they are likely to continue as a reliable source of revenue. It is easy to group them by using your sales database and loyalty programs, and then design offers, communication and investment directly for them.

Focus. Not all items are likely to sell during these times. People tend to forego or delay purchases on luxury items. While feeling the pinch, consumers are more likely to spend on products that are necessities such as food. However, it also does not necessarily mean that other non-food products are not likely to do well. There are strong indications that other consumer products such as cell phones, laptops, LCD TVs are enjoying brisk sales. Nevertheless, it is important to note that consumers are becoming more selective with their choices.

This means that you have to prioritize your marketing efforts such as your catalog printing for example, on products that are not only must- haves but also on products which are affordable. Consumers do tend to put more value on the cost rather than the brand itself. So put those products in a catalog print and make special offers to attract consumers.

Focus. Finally, put your investments in areas where there is genuine growth potential. Start with small businesses and create a demand for it. Big investments are quite difficult to sustain nowadays because of the credit crunch, so investors have to do with meager investment spending. This means that you have to focus your investments only on those where there is growth potential but with minimum costs.

Going big is not wise during these times. As what has been mentioned several times, the key is to prioritize –focus, focus, focus. Most business will not be able to spend remarkable resources on marketing campaigns. That is why it is suggested that businesses focus instead on (1) target clients such as high value customers, (2) on saleable products, and finally, (3) on high-yield investments that do not require big capital.

Finally, invest your efforts in areas with genuine growth potential. Says Judge, "For example, unemployed workers tend to startup small businesses during a recession and create demand for small business IT products and support."

The Point: "Leading companies do not subscribe to the common misconception that marketing is a discretionary expense," says Young. "They know that there is business opportunity during economic downturns, and marketing can lead the way: With smart marketing they stay on top and often capture more market share during a recession."

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

For comments and inquiries about the article visit: Catalog Print

Print This Article Comment on Article Email to Friends Ezine Ready

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated