How to Find a Good Marketing Strategy in a Bad Economy

Money Rules Man (Ben Heine),
originally uploaded by Ben Heine.

One thing I know for sure is that wherever there is weakness there is strength.  Right now all of us are angry and scared about what tomorrow will bring.  But marketing professionals know one thing for sure — our budgets will most certainly be sliced and second-guessed and challenged and if it hasn't brought in profitable new customers – YESTERDAY – it will be looked at as un-necessary.

So what can we do to prepare ourselves for what's most likely to come?  Better yet – what if this budget challenge allows us to identify better marketing strategies that will cost less and be more effective?

Here are some ideas:

1. Look back at success.  Grab your associates and have a real discussion of where your best new customers came from. 
   • Was it a referral?  From whom?  Under what circumstances?
   • Was it a particular sales rep? What is this person's process?  Can you systematize it?
   • Was it from the web?  If you don't have a formal web strategy – you might want to focus some effort there.
2. Pick two.  Out of the list you developed, which two brought you the best, easiest, most profitable customers?  
3. Invest the profits from your best customers into your top 2 customer grabbers.  Of the new business that you got – calculate the real dollar profits you've earned from those customers – now invest that money into your two top strategies.
4. Work and Learn.  Give these efforts at least two selling cycles to prove themselves.  What did you learn?  What should you change?
5. Systematize and try another one. Now you should have at least two processes that work.  Do this again and pick two more.

Now get to work – my next post will be my list of good marketing strategies — are your two on it?