Recession-proof your marketing

In today's economic climate, you can't afford to waste significant amounts of time, money and talent on marketing campaigns that fail to achieve your marketing goals. Simply put, you need to receive more 'bang-for-your-buck' (or as one of my clients likes to say, 'do more with less'). Here are 3 proven marketing tips that will recession-proof your marketing and improve the return on your next communication project:

How well do you really know your customers? Now is the time to learn all you can about those who buy your product or service. Do you capture names and marketing data at every occasion? Is there a database of past customers sitting somewhere collecting dust? When was the last time that you communicated with them? Well, no better time than now to dust it off and start a dialogue.

The opportunities available online with new social media tools and state-of-the-art print-on-demand technology make it easier than ever to deliver a targeted and very cost-effective message to your customers. For your next marketing communication, think about ways that you can build and then use your list to attract new or continuing business.

Traditional image-building advertising is dying because it does little if anything to build relationships. Is someone really going to remember your ad - the one that had one line of text and a web address so small that it was unreadable? Why would they take their valuable time to respond - unless you gave them a reason to do so? A relationship marketing approach that builds a connection with your customer is more effective. Try to avoid talking at your customers; instead, begin a dialogue with them.

Most traditional marketing does not challenge or engage the consumer. It has become immensely more difficult to cut through the clutter and make marketing materials more involving. There are, however, a variety of specific ways that you can invite action on the part of your customers and make something good happen.

Traditional awareness-driven advertising is no longer the most effective use of your budget because it has proven difficult to quantify. Your marketing dollars need to go further in a proven way!

A response driven campaign is one technique that will help you gain new customers in a very affordable and measurable way. An invitation to respond can be added to just about anything. Think about including a response mechanism with your next communication. Offer a sample, induce trial, provide more information, qualify sales leads, and watch your marketing dollars work harder.

Those who succeed know that the key is a return to the proven, back-to-basics marketing thinking. Whether your company markets a product or a service, electronically or in print - the basics of good marketing driven design remains the same. The better the quality of marketing thinking that goes into the design of your campaign, the better the results!