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Tough times call for tough marketers or something like that. Unless you’ve been ignoring all media (smart move, by the way) you’re probably painfully aware that pundits and experts alike are forecasting turbulence in the financial markets through 2009 and likely beyond.
But it’s no time to panic. Marketing and advertising are more important than ever. Mark-Hans Richer, chief marketing officer for Harley Davidson, put it this way:
“Our belief is that spending through a market downturn creates a competitive advantage for the market upturn, and an extra dollar spent today has extra dividends for tomorrow.”
And he’s not the only one preaching the value of marketing during a downturn, just Google it for more examples.
But they’re talking about spending money, money you don’t have because of vanishing customers and budget cuts by clueless management. I feel your pain, struggling marketer, and I’m here for you.
After downing several cups of tea and thinking about no-cost marketing for a few minutes, here are ten ideas from the depths of my caffeine-soaked mind. Gauge accordingly.
These ideas range from basic tactics to high level strategies, but what they all have in common is that the only cost to implement them is time and effort.
And remember, tough times never last, but tough (and resourceful) marketers do.
1. Stir up fan interest on twitter – The SciFi channel discovered its show, Eureka, was generating a lot of talk on twitter, so they created a twitter site where writers posing as characters talked back to fans. Result: the producers of the show now directly communicate to over 3,000 rabid viewers. They are not alone. Companies like Apple, Southwest Airlines, and Amazon use it too.
2. Host a get together – Use Meetup, Upcoming, or Google Groups to organize a casual get together with your customers. It doesn’t have to be fancy, you can even skip the coffee and donuts, just stick to one of the most overlooked secrets in marketing: listen to your customers. Get a bunch of them together in a room, ask them what they want from you and stand back. I guarantee you’ll learn something.
3. Create a Facebook Fan Page – Buying ad space on Facebook is ineffective because people just aren’t clicking. But building a Facebook Fan Page for your product is a free and, arguably, better way to reach your fans by giving them a badge to show off their loyalty on Facebook. Then tell them about it, starting with a link to the fan page on your web site.
4. Create a Podcast – An audio or video podcast is a great way to generate interest and attention, just be sure the content is compelling enough to get people to download it by creating a show around what your customers are interested in. Here’s a good tutorial for Windows. If you use Mac OS X you have what you need. For ideas check out how Amazon and Barnes & Noble do podcasting.
5. Host a Webinar – I love Webinars. A good webinar informs participants and motivates them to to purchase too. I recently listened to a webinar by Modern Postcard that featured a 20% off coupon. Nice! I plan on using mine for an upcoming campaign. Use free webinar hosting sites like Dimdim, Yugma, and Vyew to show customers how your product solves their problem.
6. Stream a Live Event – It is easy and free to stream video via Ustream. It’s great for tutorials, interviews, Q & A sessions and whatever else you can think up. Here’s a nice post on creating a professional uStream show by Ian Lurie (who’s site you should read regularly, by the way, because he knows his stuff and he’s funny, need I say more?).
7. Hold a Contest – Events like contests generate media exposure and get customers talking about the experience to friends and family. Drumming up word-of-mouth with a contest can be as simple as asking them in what interesting ways they use your product. Be sure to post all entries to your site and shout as loud as you can about the runners up and winner.
8. Take Care of Your Employees – Believe it or not, everyone in your organization is a marketer, everyone is an ambassador of your brand and, to the customer they’re dealing with, your employees are the face of the company. Make sure your people know you value them during tough times and consider empowering them to make the decisions that matter most to customers.
9. Improve Customer Service – The difference between good and great is in the details. Can your customer service experience be improved with a few tweaks or an easy policy change? Do it. Make it as seamless and enjoyable as you can (yes, enjoyable). In short: make it rock, because happy customers are loyal customers and you need those more than ever right now.
10. Let Customers Know You Appreciate Them – When was the last time you said “thank you” to a customer? Just as with any relationship in your life, it pays to express gratitude on a regular basis. Sound corny? Think of it this way: Customers who feel appreciated are going to give the love right back in the form of loyalty. Send them and email, make a call, interact with them any way you see fit. Just let them know they are important. It works.
Have an idea for marketing on the cheap during tough times? Share it in the comments.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Keith! Thanks for the Yugma mention. With a Yugma free account you can invite up to 10 others to view your desktop presentation while using the chat feature and teleconference service. Yugma (www.yugma.com) is a great tool for product demonstrations. An online, interactive demo is not only “free marketing” but it is a way to differentiate yourself from the competition and to create a unique touchpoint with your potential clients. Not only is it cost effective marketing, it is flat out smart marketing!
Hi Rebecca,
I agree, online demos are smart marketing. So is using Google Blog Search to find mentions of your product and making relevant comments (http://blogsearch.google.com/). Well done ;-]
Looking forward to trying Yugma when I have some free time. Brainstorming some possible uses…
Thanks for the comment!
I particularly like the idea of 1. focusing on your existing “fan” base (getting to know them more via twitter, Facebook, comments, etc.) and 2. meeting as many new people off-line as you do online (tweetups, meetup.com and upcoming all help in this area).
It’s no doubt that you’ll have the opportunity to meet many new and great people online. What you “do” with those opportunities is important. I think that time well spent is time getting to know your readers. They’ll invite their friends over if you establish a good sense of community. But then building relationships is also about finding opportunities to take those connections off-line; truth-be-told, it’s a pretty awesome experience when you do!
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