The following article is written by my friend Sharon Tieman of Madame Marketing, who is co-creator and presenter of Recession Proof Marketing - www.recessionproofmarketing.com.au …………………….

Make no Mistake …Recession Proof Marketing strategies do exist. There are marketing techniques that will get you through the toughest of economies.I’m not going to debate whether we are in a recession or not. What I will say is this…

• A recession like economy happens every 7-9 years.

• Hundreds of thousands of businesses world-wide went broke in the last recession.

• In the last recession, the World Wide Web was not nearly advanced as it is now. Now we have a lot more affordable marketing opportunities.

• There will be less of your traditional style customers. But you now have a bigger market place, thanks to the web.

All it means is that you can’t do business today the same way you did a year ago … or five years ago … or ten years ago …This time it will be different!

What does this mean for traditional style business:-

• A recession will weed out the bad competitors, leaving more business for you.

• A recession will weed out those businesses not keeping up with the times.

• Many competitors will “trim their so called, marketing fat” which in reality is ‘trimming their muscle”

TWO WAYS TO GO BROKE IN A RECESSION.

You see, I believe there are two ways to go broke in a Recession.

Bad Maths or Bad Marketing. You can either be great at Maths, but not marketing. You know what I mean, good profit margins, everything perfectly costed out, books perfectly balance - but no customers.

Or you can be great at Marketing, and not Maths. Loads of customers, always busy and popular, but making no money because you haven’t costed anything out. Both are a false economy.

Most recessions only last for 12-18months. If you adapt and use Recession Proof Marketing strategies, and have your maths right, you will become leaner and stronger, with more market share than before.

Let’s get one thing clear….

The world is NOT going to stop! People will still need to eat out, they will still have gift to buy people, they will need to replace broken worn out goods. They will still need to celebrate, they will still need to maintain what they have, to move on, move up, move out. Let’s get real!

The knee jerk reaction for most businesses will be to cut advertising and marketing immediately. The opportunities here are:-

• Your marketing will stand out more, as there will be less clutter around.

• You will be able to keep your customers loyal, and grab some of the customers that are not being looked after or contacted.

Recession Proof Marketing Strategies:

The 7 Basics.

1. Only do the Marketing that is measurable and works. This is no time for experimental advertising.

2. You will get 5 times better response with your advertising dollar if contact the customers you already have, rather than trying to get new customers. Yes, 5 times better response!

3. Focus on gaining customers and keeping customers. When the hard times clear, you will have a larger market share, and a leaner operating business.

4. The fastest way to grow your customer list, with the least amount of money is through Strategic Alliances and Joint Venture Partnerships. Many of these arrangements cost no money, but can rapidly increase your customer database.

5. Find the hungry crowds. What are they buying? Who is buying it? Don’t try and sell ice-cream during winter and heaters during summer. Promote and market what is popular and profitable to the customers that are around at the time.

6. Always, Always, Always have an offer in your advertising. If you are going to spend money on marketing, give the customer a great offer to contact you. Branding or flag waving might get your friends and family talking, but it does not put money in the register during tough times.

7. Negotiate on everything - especially advertising. During recession and tough times, these advertising guys are really hungry for business. Don’t be afraid to negotiate or make an offer.

Remember Tough Times, don’t last, tough people do.

Article by my good friend Sharon Tieman of Madame Marketing, Australia

Madame Marketing.
http://www.madamemarketing.com
http://www.recessionproofmarketing.com.au