Leading companies do not subscribe to the common misconception that marketing is a discretionary expense. 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.
Tip 1: Keep your existing customers
Keeping existing customers is more profitable than finding new ones. Many studies report that it is 5 times more expensive to win a new customer than to keep an existing one. Create services that will have an immediate impact for customers. Beside your products, there might be services or solutions that will solve some of your customers problems. Service often differentiates more than products or prices. List all the needs of your customers and see if there is something you can do to help!
Tip 2: Prioritize sales support
Focus on supporting activities closer to conversion.
Tip 3: Plan
A company without a strategic plan -and there are many- is like a ship without a rudder. Everyone on board is in danger. Without a corporate strategy that guides marketing investments, companies create confused messages, poorly positionned products, and ineffective, costly programs that damage business and jeopardize marketing’s credibility.
Tip 4: Metrics
It doesn’t exist if you can’t measure it. Too often marketing programs are launched without clear objectives.
When you publish a press release, how many articles in the press do you target? During trade shows, how many qualified leads, press coverage, customer meetings?
Prior every marketing investments, you should answer the following questions:
- What our measurable objectives for the activity?
- What’s our strategy for achieving those objectives?
- What alternatives do we have for achieving the same results?
- What resources will we apply to be sure we meet those objectives?
- How will we monitor progress against the objectives?
- How will we know if we have been successful?
Tip 5: Win/loss analysis
Win/loss analysis will contribute requirements to product development and feedback about messaging to marketing. It may also help uncover new strategies and initiatives.
A win/loss analysis should answer the following questions:
- Why do customers select your products/services?
- Why did your prospects select your competitor’s products/services and why they didn’t select yours?
- How do your competitors position themselves when they compete with you?
- How do your customers and prospects perceive your sales and marketing efforts?
- How do your customers and prospects perceive competitors and their products/services?
- What are the most important criteria a customer looks for when selecting products/services in your market?
- How effective is your marketing and sales team in presenting your company, your value proposition and your products/services?
WIth those tips, you will be able to convince your management more easily for marketing investments and you will demonstrate your accountability.
Photo by Ezzz
I'm a trend watcher, business innovator and marketing strategist. For most of my career, I worked in the consumer electronic business. 
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