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1. Trade Image for Measured Results. In tough times people are choosier. They want to get their money's worth. They want to see tangible results today. You're a people, too - right? So spend less on expensive image ads. Spend more on simple ideas that dramatize the real difference between you and The Other Guys. Talk value not hype. Track results daily. Count phone calls, home page hits,
store traffic. You can often measure the traction of one ad in three days,
or of an entire campaign in three weeks or less. |
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2. Slickify your Website. Get your PPC, SEOP and push media in synch. What are the top five or six keyword phrases that drive Google shoppers to your website? Put those KWs in your push media copy. If your URL appears at the bottom of your print ads, put a thumbnail of your
ad on your homepage. Run your best :30 radio spots in random order
automatically whenever people click in. |
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3. Look like you're Worth More. V>P>C. That rule applies universally and without regard to the
current economic statistics. Even if you have to cut prices, don't try to look suddenly cheaper than The
Other Guys.
Low price speaks for itself. You should still LOOK like you're the highest
value in your category.
When the next high tide does roll in, you won't have to repair a cut-rate
image. (See also Burkhard's Laws.) |
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4. Call your own company. Try to buy something from yourself. See how many buttons you have to push to get to a human. Tell that person what you're looking for. Use a fake name. Be a little vague. Disguise your voice. Listen carefully. Does your telemarketing team know your brand, your technology, your shipping rates, your website... cold? Do they know what ads you're running today? Slickify your TMs, too. |
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Ask for an unvarnished testimonial. "Could we quote you, sir (or madam)?" Record the calls. Add gush to your sales materials and direct mail. Better yet, post the original audio on your website. Even better, make
testimonial radio spots, run them on high QA cume radio stations at
far lower prices than TV or print. |
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6. Aim Higher. Why aim low in tough times? Bottom feeders are tapped out. Run your ads in media that
reach the top two household income quintiles. Run creative that makes you look like you're
worth more than you cost. Use the Steam Principle to
get next week's shoppers this week. |
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7. Water around the edges. Your natural inclination in a recession is to concentrate on core business: best-selling brands and best-buying customers. That is correct short-term strategy, but don't totally ignore the brands and customers at the fringe. When the economy rebounds, they will show the first signs of growth, so nurture them, too. Run a Brand Resistance
Survey (it costs zero) to find out if there are any "Yeah, but..."
objections out there that your next round of ads could easily defuse. |
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8. Try something New. Anything. When sales are in a slump everyone in your company gets depressed. If for no other reason than as a morale booster, try something new. Test a new campaign in one or two markets. Try a different piece of direct
mail. Track results. You should plan to launch an new initiative every six weeks. If one in three
pays out you'll be way ahead of The Other Guys. |
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9. (BONUS!) Hire Us. Most of the people who work on your brand have never
been through one recession. I've been through four. Anybody can be a hero in a boom. |
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