When times are tough, many companies hunker down and rely on their customer base to see them through. Working your customer base harder is a good idea, but a no-prospecting strategy is apt to come back to bite you. (Click on headline for more…)
Advertising
Stay Away From Greenwashing
I’m often asked some variation of the question, “How green does my business have to be in order for it to “count”?” (Click on headline for more…)
How Companies Are Modifying Their Holiday Marketing Strategies This Year
While the stock market was taking yet another nosedive on Wednesday, I happened to be reviewing an Internet Retailer survey about expectations for holiday sales, and how companies were modifying their strategies as a result. I was especially interested in the two questions that involved marketing strategies: (Click the headline for more…)
Tips on Prioritizing Your Marketing Goals
When I ask clients about their marketing goals for next year, I’m usually told, “Make more money.” Sometimes they may have a particular revenue goal in mind, but few are more specific than that.
There are only two ways to make more money:
(click on headline for more…)
A Strategy for Beating the Bad Economy
In one of last week’s posts, I discussed how one garden center doubled sales largely by hiring someone who understood the value of promotion and knew how to do it well.
The other day, the same point hit home when talking to a friend who wholesales potted bulbs sold as gifts. Last Christmas, two of his clients, both prominent gardening catalogers with similar customers, carried the same gift basket. Company A included it in their catalog with hard-to-see photography, a pretty mundane headline, and almost no description.
Company B used dramatic photography, a powerful headline, and compelling copy. Not only did they put the item in their catalog, but they tested it as a featured item in their email promotions, and it flew off the shelves. Naturally, they continued the promotions, and they had a hard time keeping it in stock. The marketing manager dubbed it a home run.
Meanwhile, Company A is dropped the product this year because it didn’t sell well enough.
I chuckled when I heard the story. I’ve been getting newsletters from Company A for years with subject lines like “September Newsletter from Company A” while Company B’s newsletter subject lines always include strong benefits and calls to action.
I’ll bet you anything that Company A is bemoaning how tough it is doing business in today’s economy. Meanwhile, I’ve read that Company B’s business is up 40% in 2008. Sounds like a classic example of making your own luck!
