how to market & promote your business during a recession filehow to market & promote your...

How to Market & PromoteYour Business During a Recession

A presentation for First Bank, San FranciscoFebruary 26, 2009

By: Sharon Schanzer & Gil Zeimer

How to GENERATE DEMANDDuring a Recession

A presentation for First Bank, San FranciscoFebruary 26, 2009

By: Sharon Schanzer & Gil Zeimer

Sharon Schanzer & Gil Zeimer ©2009 All Rights Reserved

Why INCREASE Marketing in a Downturn?

• From the Harvard Business Review: … “The rationale that a companycan afford a cutback in advertising because everybody else is cuttingback [is fallacious]. Rather than wait for business to return to normal, topexecutives should cash in on the opportunity that the rival companiesare creating for them. The company courageous enough to stay in thefight when everyone else is playing safe can bring about a dramaticchange in market position.” …

• “Advertising should be regarded not as a drain on profits but as acontributor to profits, not as an unavoidable expense but as a means ofachieving objectives. Ad budgets should be related to the company’sgoals instead of to last year’s sales or to next year’s promises.”


Survey: How are you Marketing Your Business?

•Who has a logo?•Who has a website?•Who writes a newsletter?•Who runs ads in local papers?•Who sends emails?•Who sends cards?•Who makes speeches?•Why blogs?•Who networks?


Our Two Cents:Essential Items in Your Marketing “Arsenal”

• Professionally designed & printed business card• “30-second elevator pitch”• Professionally designed website (even if it’s simple); SEO• LinkedIn.com profile• One pager PDF• Success stories or whitepapers• Unique value proposition• CRM system for lead tracking• Signature on email• Three power partners• One network group• Give at least one referral per week


Events &Appearances

Case Studies

Newsletters

Radio/TVPrint Ads

Press Releases Direct Mail

BrochuresHTML-BasedE-mail

The Web

“Your demand generation success requires the synergyof all marcom modalities . . . with the web as nexus”

Use Your Website To Achieve End-to-End Synergy


Live & Online Networking Choices

• LIVE Word-of-Mouth Referrals• Visit Business Network International (BNI)• Visit B2BPowerExchange.com• Join Your Local Chamber of Commerce• WomenInConsulting.com (WIC)

• ONLINE• Yelp.com• Facebook.com• LinkedIn.com• YahooGroups.com• B2BPowerExchange.com• YourMarketingLab.com – a great resource!


Advertising Ideas

•Run ads in your local Chamber newsletter•Create small space newspaper ads•Send HTML/Text emails; like small ads•Mail postcards or SendOutCards.com•Your business card should be an ad•Your Website can be a constantly evolving sourceof advertising and attract visitors•Your “infomercial/elevator speech” is an ad• FREE ADVICE: MarketingSherpa.com,ConstantContact.com


Promotional Ideas

•Become a shameless self-promoter•Put a sandwich board outside your store•Slap a sign on your car•Mail postcards with a promotional offer:“Buy This/Get That”•Use your Website to promote something with adeadline: “For the next 30 days only…”•Use your “infomercial/elevator speech” as apromotional device•Create a promotional memory hook(“During March, I’ll be offering a 15% savings…”)


Direct Response Ideas

• It is far more cost-effective to market to your currentcustomer base than to prospects•Contact all customers over the past 3-5 years – askthem if they’re still interested in your product orservice. If not, why?•Mail 3–5 postcards with a promotional offer and alimited timeframe•Use your Website to promote something with adeadline: “For the next 30 days only…”•Send emails with a promotional offer•Be specific in your offer


Sidebar: Create a Blog

•What is a blog? Wikipedia•Why have over 133 million of them been publishedonline? Technorati•Who writes them? Who reads them?•How can you use the power of a blog to expandyour digital footprint, to add daily or weekly updatesabout your business, to brandyourself, and to sellmore of your product or service than you everimagined? It’s easy…


Now what? How to Find Customers

• Look thru your “Rolodex;” include OLD leads• LinkedIn to everyone even if you don’t havecurrent info• LinkedIn profile should be very specific• “Givers Gain”•Promote specific “products”•Google Adwords• Freshen materials•Do pro-bono work


Now what? How to Find Customers

• Existing customers are best customers• Court your existing customers; send info, buy lunch etc.• Contact them as often as possible• Create events• Read the Business Times• Develop partnerships & meet with partners weekly• Optimize brand• Speak• Become indispensable• Become a subject matter expert• Create and deliver webinars


Words to Live By

Close the LOOP!!!

FOLLOW UP ON ALL LEADS; You never know!


Any questions about marketing, getting new clients, or creating your Website?

Contact Gil Zeimer [email protected] 415-491-1058 www.zeimer.com

Sharon Schanzer [email protected] 415.282.2060 www.RLDgroup.com

Q&A

how to market & promote your business during a recession filehow to market & promote your...

Documents