Nine,Ways,Know,Time,Expand,You marketing Nine Ways to Know Its Time to Expand Your Marketing
Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie
By now youve probably read one or more of the jillion articles being published on the subject of how and why you should market in a recession. But, lets face it. Marketing in a recession is not right for all companies.How do you know if its right for you?Here are nine triggers that should make you think seriously about expanding your marketing efforts now.You have some cash. If youve got the resources, its rarely ever a bad idea to increase marketing. In 25+ years of marketing, Ive never run across a company that had perfected its marketing efforts to the point where nothing more was needed. In a bad economy, extra cash invested in marketing can pay off many, many times over. Youre a risk taker. It goes without saying that trigger #1 is pretty much a requirement. But you also need to be comfortable operating outside of the norm. Most businesses will cut back on marketing during a recession. Its a very common, knee-jerk reaction. Youve got to be able to sleep at night while youre moving against the crowd. Most successful entrepreneurs are pretty good at this. Your competitors are hiding. As I mentioned above, the most common reaction to a recession includes whacking the marketing spend. When your competitors do this, they create a great opportunity for you to jump in and fill the void. If youre clever, it might not even cost you any extra money. Your marketing has succeeded and you have market share to protect. This is the reverse of trigger #3. If you pass the test in trigger #1, dont become one of those companies in hiding. Some smart competitor will pull a #3 on you. You need to sell to people who dont know you personally. Trust and integrity are very big in a recession especially this one where so many problems have been caused by people who were supposed to know what they were doing. Marketing especially in the form of client testimonials, case studies, education, word of mouth and thought leadership programs can help you gain your prospects trust. Your sales people are cold calling instead of chasing warm leads. This is a classic sign that you need marketing to find and develop leads for your sales team. Cold calling is a struggle in the best of times, and your most talented closers are never the most successful at it. Your customers love you. You must be doing something right. Nows a great time to get the word out to other people. You believe in marketing. A recession is probably not the best time to test a shaky belief in marketing. Marketing is a process and people are taking longer to make buying decisions now. Youll most likely get too nervous and quit too soon. Then youll have a difficult time ever learning to benefit from marketing. If you question the value of marketing, maybe you should wait. You like to win. If stealing market share from your competitors, growing your business while others are just hoping to survive, and coming out of the recession on top motivate you, now is a great time to act. Buyers need you. Theres less competition. You may find some good deals on marketing costs. What more could you want?© 2008 Tatum Marketing
Nine,Ways,Know,Time,Expand,You