Recession Proof Marketing

In these uneasy and murky waters of a recession, the Dow Jones Industrial Average continues to decline, the dollar weakens, companies participate in massive layoffs, and most working class Americans tighten their budgets and the proverbial grip on their wallets.

Naturally we assume that organizations should cut back as well, particularly if they can no longer afford to keep all of their employees. When the economy is in trouble, we will all be adversely affected on some level. Therefore the only reasonable thing to do is to eliminate unnecessary spending and preserve resources.

Well, this may not necessarily be the best advice for marketing professionals. Several industry experts argue that marketing budgets should not be slashed in an effort to deal with an economic downturn. In fact, according to Marketing Your Way Through A Recession, by John Quelch at the Harvard Business School, “Brands that increase advertising during a downturn can improve market share and return on investment.” There are also several ways to increase brand awareness and sales during a recession which include, focusing on core values, adjusting price tactics, and researching the customer.

So before you start cutting your marketing budget in dutiful response to the economic climate, you may want to re-examine your marketing activities and simply make some smart and strategic revisions.

Keri Glover

Is Mobile Marketing for everyone?

Intriguing, innovative and global are all words that come to mind when one hears the term, Mobile Marketing. And every organization wants to find new ways to connect with their target audience. Right?

Well, mobile marketing activities should initially be approached like any other marketing effort. One of the very first steps is still to identify your target audience. Who does your organization want to reach, and why? You may also be wondering what demographics you can reach using Mobile Marketing?

Once you have answered these important questions, you can better determine if a Mobile Marketing campaign will add value to your current marketing activities.

According to the Nielson Mobile report, Critical Mass The Worldwide State of the Mobile Web, as of May 2008, “40 million mobile subscribers in the US, plus millions more across Europe and Asia, surf the web through a mobile phone each month.” Interestingly enough, the demographics of these 40 million mobile subscribers extend beyond the usual suspects - the Millenials and Tweens. According to the chart listed below, a diverse audience awaits your skillfully crafted marketing messages.

So now that you know who you are trying to reach, and what you want to communicate, the burning question remains. Should you attempt to market your product and services to these customers through their mobile phones?

Well, according to the Direct Marketing Association, maybe you should. Based on the results of a quantitative mobile marketing research effort, the DMA discovered “that text messaging is by far the most often cited mobile marketing method — accounting for 70 percent of consumer mobile marketing responses - compared to a 41 percent response rate to surveys and a 30 percent response rate for e-mail offers.” Google also seems to think mobile marketing is a worthy investment, as the Internet search engine giant has now made its Google image ads available to mobile advertisers.

So if you haven’t considered mobile marketing yet, maybe it is time to explore just how this increasingly popular way to connect with people can be a viable addition to your marketing activity mix.

Are you still interested in this topic? Well you can learn more by joining us at the Charlotte American Marketing Association monthly meeting:
When: Wednesday August 13th
Where: At the Dilworth Neighborhood Bar & Grill
Speaker: Apple Senior System Engineer, Francis Shepherd.

Apple, creator of the sensational iPod and iPhone, has always been on the cutting edge of technology, and we look forward to hearing more about mobile marketing from a member of this successful organization.

To register for this event, please click here.

Keri Glover