You Don’t Have to Go Broke

to Have Great Marketing

Presented by:Leslie Vickrey, President & Founder

ClearEdge Marketing

© 2009 ClearEdge Marketing. Confidential information.

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Premise for Today’s Call

To provide insights that will help you spend less on marketing while…

o Increasing the value of current investmentso Filling pipeline with strong, actionable

leadso Protecting and gaining market share

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Content

Who is ClearEdge Marketing? Marketing’s Recession Value: A History The Lesson, the Reality Five Proven Recession Marketing Tactics

Outline of each topic Real-world examples: Marketing in Action

Q&A

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Who is ClearEdge Marketing?

Outsourced marketing services provider offering extensive specialization in IT services and solutions

Clients include…

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Marketing’s Recession Value:

A History

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Marketing’s Recession Value

Companies that did not cut marketing…

o Doubled sales numbers by 1977o Tripled profits by 1977

Companies that did cut marketing…o Sales recovered to 50 percent by 1977 o Doubled profits by 1977

American Business Press study—1974-75 recession

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Marketing’s Recession Value

McGraw Hill Study—1981-82 recession Increased marketing spending resulted in…

o Higher sales during the recession o Higher sales in the three years after

the recession

2002 McKinsey Study 1,000 businesses from 1982-1999 Top performing companies increased

marketing spend during 1990-91 recessiono Outspent competitorso Recession budgets exceeded non-

recession budgets

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The Lesson, the Reality

The Lesson Not Marketing is Not an Option If you don’t market you will...

o Lose competitive groundo Delay your company’s recoveryo Put opportunities on hold

The Reality Marketing budgets, like everything

need to shrink Your option…

o Smarter marketing, less investment, greater return

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Five Tactics for Recession Marketing Sucess

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Tactic #1:List Development & Cold

Calling

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List Development & Cold Calling

Focus: A well-defined list of prospects grounds your efforts

Clarity: There is little guessing about who you are going after

Results: An accurate list quadruples the effectiveness of a cold calling campaign

Appointments: You won’t have an opportunity to get a meeting if you don’t call and ask for one

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List Creation & Management

Define your ideal client Size Location Industry Job function/title

Create a list to match your ideal client Purchase a list Build a list in house

Keep the list updated and growing

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Cold Calling Best Practices

Create voicemail/phone scripts Go for warm calls, leverage social

networking sites and reference a possible mutual acquaintance

Point to a newsworthy article Highlight a blog or press release on

their Web site Prepare for objections or concerns Rehearse to build confidence and

enthusiasm Offer sales staff cold calling incentives

(contest, blitz) Involve everyone—junior and senior

sales professionals Keep calling...

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Make at least 5 total call attempts to each prospect 44% of salespeople will stop calling after the first call Another 22% stop calling after the second call 14% more will stop calling after the third call An additional 12% will stop after the fourth call This means 92% of salespeople quit after the fourth call 70% of the population needs at least 5 contacts before

they'll trust you enough to grant you an appointment

If you want to beat 92% of your competition, make that fifth call!

Cold Calling Best Practices

MAKE THE 5th CALL...

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Required for Success

Your sales staff Focus, motivate and measure their cold calling efforts

Inactive clients Refresh contact details and hit the phones

Your value proposition Highlight your uniqueness

Your industry knowledge Use your insights from networking events and client

appointments to build rapport and credibility

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Tactic #2:E-mail Marketing

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E-mail Marketing

ConsequencesDecrease in industry-

wide response metrics (open/click-through rates)

Decline in subscriber tolerance

Improved results for quality e-mail programs

Plan of attackConvey clear value

propositionVow to stop sending bad

e-mailInvest in e-mail

marketing technology

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The Value of E-mail Marketing

Cost-effective: Requires a minimal investment to create and manage

Simplicity: Whether you manage it in house or use a third party, the

tools are very easy to use and measure

Accessibility: Nearly everyone has an e-mail address and can be

reached via this medium

Frequency: With some discipline, it allows you to regularly stay in

front of your clients

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E-mail Marketing

Provide thoughtful, valuable business content by e-mail E-newsletter Keep-in-touch program E-cards More…

Invest in a generic, but branded template that can be recycled

Create and manage the campaign in-house Discipline and consistency are key

Consider a third-party service, such as Vertical Response or Constant Contact

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Required for Success

“Home grown” thought leadership Articles, case studies, white papers, blogs

Your list! Use your refreshed list as targets for your e-mail

campaign

Your Web site Post your articles, case studies and white papers Link to the materials on your site to increase traffic Post your e-mail newsletter to your site“By simply reducing untargeted, low-impact e-mails, you can actually fund the

development of new programs that drive significant ROI and help you stand out in the inbox.”

-2009 Trends Almanac, Exact Target

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Tactic #3:Referrals & Testimonials

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Referrals & Testimonials

Trust: This is a peer-to-peer conversation

Authenticity: “Sales” feel completely eliminated

Honesty: Unbarred, unedited, unmonitored conversation. They can ask whatever they like

Track Record: First-hand proof of business success, results and client satisfaction

The Results: What do you do when you have a reference or two from a trusted source?

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Referrals & Testimonials

Make requesting a reference part of sales best practices

Why sales? o Accountabilityo Direct beneficiarieso They KNOW people—who would be a good

reference

The approach:o Check in 2-3 months after the service/solution

has been implemented o Confirm project/consultant is succeedingo Ask if they would be willing to be a referenceo Offer options…

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Examples

Peer-to-peer reference Willing to be on a call list for potential clients with similar

roles/positions?o Be sure to emphasize that the client’s name will be

used sparingly so as not to send a flood of work and phone calls to a busy, valued client

Attend an event Open house/in-house event for your company where a

case study of your solution is discussed Industry roundtable event/panel

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Examples

Testimonials A statement written by the client about your service/solutions

Case study A summary of the service/solution written by your marketing

team and including a quote/statement from the client

Unpublished client list Shown during presentations

Published client list On Web site and sales literature

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Required for Success

Your sales staff They KNOW who would be a good reference They are direct beneficiaries of solid referrals and

testimonials

Written and verbal feedback Ask a client for permission to use their comments

Satisfaction surveys An “additional comments” box can reveal some insights

that can be shared with a client’s permissiono Marketing in Action to Come!

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Tactic #4:Events

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The Value of Events

Many legs Provides multiple avenues for building brand

recognition, gives you a reason to contact a client, you can be creative!

Demonstrates thought leadership Gives you clout as an expert in a particular area

Direct contact Allows you to get in front of prospects

Insight Lets you learn more about a prospect’s pain points or

business needs

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Event Examples

What are your event options? Host a Webinar Attend meetings or events hosted by your local trade

and industry associations Participate in community-based events (arts, charities,

sports etc.) Partner with an association to host or sponsor a local

event and roundtable Job fair Be creative: Dinner groups, social networking

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Required for Success

Association memberships Take advantage of the investment you’ve already made

Your teleconferencing provider Many offer Webcasting capabilities as part of their

services and as an established customer you may be able to negotiate very reasonable pricing

Your community Establish a reciprocating relationship with organizations

that can benefit from your career-based expertise

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Marketing in Action

The Company: Hollstadt & Associates An award-winning management

consulting firm Headquartered in Minneapolis/St.

Paul, MN

The Objective: To involve staff, consultants and

clients in philanthropic efforts

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Hollstadt & Associates

The Program:

Hollstadt’s Big Give Two non-profit organizations

chosen to receive $2,500 each Private appreciation event to

announce winners

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Hollstadt & Associates

Program Results: Nearly 20 charity nominations by clients and

consultants More than 100 attendees at the appreciation

event Opportunity to communicate on a more personal

level Boosted relationship building and retention

efforts Created anticipation for next year’s nomination

process

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Tactic #5:Public Relations

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The Value of Public Relations

Validation: A third party is using you as the expert

Visibility: Provides another avenue to establish brand recognition

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Public Relations

Provide business updates and introduce experts Buzz that will get noticed by potential and existing clients

Build relationships with media Identify publication targets

Local newspapers Trade/industry newspapers and magazines

Be on the lookout for newsworthy information Community involvement New hires/promotions/acquisitions/mergers New business New services Events Awards

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Required for Success

In-house experts Use your own expertise or that of your staff to

become a reliable resource for the media

Awards Good PR topics that can be added to

brochures, company profiles and Web site to bring distinction and credibility

Places to look:o Industry associationso Clients and vendorso Local media outlets

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Marketing in Action

The Company: The Armada Group A premier Silicon Valley-based

IT consulting firm

The Objective: Increase brand recognition in

the community Build upon reputation of “quality

provider of IT services”

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Case Study: The Armada Group

The Program:Armada’s Client and Consultant Satisfaction Surveys

Measure clients’ and consultants’ satisfaction

Gather quantifiable data regarding brand

Results press release distributed to targeted media, posted on Web site and Facebook page, e-mailed to clients and candidates, included in monthly e-newsletter

The Results: Article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel Feature Article in SI Review Provided the validation needed to win

the SI Review Excellence Award, which allowed for additional PR efforts

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In Summary…

Five fundamental marketing programs provide plenty of opportunity with little to no cost using resources you already have

Take an inventory of what you do have Highly satisfied customers Local associations you belong to Existing thought leadership Knowledgeable professionals on your staff

Make the investment in marketing today in preparation for the market turnaround

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Your Turn

Questions?

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Leslie VickreyPresident & FounderClearEdge Marketing

312.731.3149 * lvickrey@clearedgemarketing.com

www.clearedgemarketing.com

Thank You!