Posts
Increase Marketing Activity
Strangely enough, in a time of ‘slowing down’ or ‘recession’ many, many business
owners have as a first reaction that of ‘tightening the belt’. Almost instinctively they
become gripped by fear and look to ‘batten down the hatches’ and ‘ride out the
storm’. To me, that is wonderful because actually it leaves the market wide open for
those amongst us who are forward thinking. When everyone else goes quiet we can
storm ahead and capture market share. Slow downs are actually a time to step up!
Contrary to popular opinion the slowing down of a spending habit doesn’t stop people
spending as a total rule. Many for example even say to themselves “times are tough
and I don’t feel great so I’m spending to make myself feel better!” Holidays for some
are immediately scrapped as a luxury and yet some say “I need a holiday to keep me
going”. Because of this human variation it is suicidal to make generalisms and
assume that spending will stop. There will always be spending, so always be there for
them to choose you.
As a caveat though I shall clarify that when I talk to people about increasing
marketing activity I do not mean marketing activity that is advertising. Broadly
speaking, I do not recommend advertising and unless you can clearly show from
accurate measured return figures that an advert pays back, do not spend. If an
advertising person comes to you with a really good offer “last minute availability,
someone has cancelled” etc then my reply is always to question them a little. Try
throwing it back with questions like “Is this a truly excellent proposition? Can you
say that a lot of people will see it? Do you feel that it will generate a lot of
enquiries?”
When they say ‘Yes’ to those I simply say “well then you’ll be happy to have a back
end deal – if you’re confident that lots of people will respond then I‘ll pay double the
price that a normal advert would cost but payments made per response”. At this point
they usually go running…but if you can get a back end deal then take it.
What you should do is increase your activity.
Go to more and different network groups. Mix with a new and varied group of
people…not just business network groups but just groups of people who are in a
‘mover and shaker’ type of group for your particular business interest. It should be
the right peer group and it might well include entertainment activity where you will
be mixing with this group of people – whatever it is you need to ramp up the activity.
When it goes quiet make more noise!
Send more mail. Spend those hours into the evening instead of watching the TV and
write some creative email messages that demonstrate why you can solve their
problem. Illustrate and showcase. Set examples of case history down and send them
out to all those who might be in your arena. Never ever blame the lack of inward
response -make extra effort to go out and draw it into you.
Learn more intelligence about where your clients or prospect might be and increase
your activity in that direction. Sit down tonight and ask yourself “Ok, where might
my ideal clients spend their evenings?” What group might they be a part of? Who
might they also mix with?” Increase your thinking and questioning and then increase
activity in the appropriate area. Substitute spending money for spending time out in
new places or time spent learning writing and visiting.
It is a proven science that human beings feel safest when in a comfort zone…and
business owners or consumers that make up your target group feel safe and
comfortable when dealing with familiarity. Thus your obvious challenge is to make
them feel comfortable and familiar with you and your offer. You cannot expect this to
happen without activity as they simply will not know you, so a quiet time when many
businesses cut back, allows a greater exposure for you to step into. When it goes
quieter, and your prospect’s minds are less over-loaded with other competitor
choices, you can be forthcoming with a message that hits them frequently and well
constructed messages that appeal to their eyes and ears will see you grow and steal
market share. ‘Slowdowns’ are when other competitors slow down not when the
world does.
In addition think about the challenge from the perspective of a vendor such as an
exhibition organiser or a magazine publisher. As most people are sitting back and not
spending these two groups might be more ‘desperate’ than usual and a fabulous deal
can be had which makes you look far larger and more prosperous than you might
otherwise have been able to afford. These are exactly the times to systematically and
strategically do deals with exposure mediums and do deals with exhibition companies
etc and make a loud noise.
You’ll find that there is no such thing as a slow down for you…the spending might be
more thinly spread but as you become more widely spread the overall effect is
actually more to you! So, get busy and enjoy!
