I Agree with George Bush
..now that everyone who even slightly knows me has fallen on the floor in a dead faint…
While our economy has a LOT of problems that aren’t easily fixed in a single bit of legislation or a few thousand political sound bites, we DO need to take a deep breath, as he recently said.
I’ve seen this time and again - when things get tough, rather it’s all over or for a single company - the automatic reflex is to hunker down and go into bunker mode.
People cut back on marketing and sales expenditures - just when they should be increasing their efforts. I’ve heard “we’re cutting back” from all kinds of people lately - from a car dealer to high tech.
Certainly, we should all manage our budgets responsibly and focus on things that yield results, in both good and bad times…but you can’t sell more by doing less.
You should be looking for ways to get more creative with what you already do, then do more of it. Do something special for the customers you already have (they’ll tell others about you); get involved in some worthy causes that have been hard hit lately (Meals on Wheels and food banks, for example…great PR!); (finally) renovate that web site (it sells 24/7 worldwide if done right) ; give your top performers a big check and ask them to think wayyy outside the box…and then let them go do it…and so on and so forth.
P.S. Blindly throwing big chunks of budget at things like advertising (or - ack, ack - consultants) is never a good idea, no matter how much money you have to spend (or how desperate you feel.)
Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, US Economy, George Bush, marketing budget
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July 17th, 2008 at 11:11 am
The title dragged me in, Mary. You make a good point. Reacting is never a good idea. Get proactive. One example: get more involved in your local business community. Consider AIBA, for example - discolsure: we’re both on the board of the Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance. Reach out to fellow businesses; in some cases, there are opportunities to create publicity together. Cooperative events. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. A tough time is a perfect time for people to come together and use synergy for the common good. The AIBA membership drive: when you renew, you get a free membership to give to a friend. Just one more example. Don’t know if George will do it, but we can check!
July 18th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
[…] more on marketing think during a downturn: Mary Schmidt agrees with George Bush […]
July 20th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
My organization is caught in the downturn. We have started cutting back on travel, conferences, and printing. We are also looking at the impact the “new normal” has on employees. We’re considering allowing them to telecommute more often and we will also be enrolling them in our cost-cutting efforts.
I’ve heard of one company that refused to raise its mileage reimbursement when the IRS did. That will negatively impact employee engagement. All it will take is for one or two employees to quit for that and similar tight-fisted policies, and any potential cost-saving to the company will go out the window.
Bottom line: Businesses should take care of their employees and their current customers, first.
Glenn
July 29th, 2008 at 9:13 am
[…] …or as I’ve noted before, you can’t sell more by doing less… […]
September 15th, 2008 at 8:42 am
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