How To Beat Economic Uncertainty
During any uncertain times those that survive are those that get smart and take action. Those that stand and just observe sink.
Every now and then you have to take a real good look at what is delivering and what isn’t. So many times over the years I have seen business literally throw money at marketing and just hope it works.
These are economic uncertain times that are not only giving us a fear of what could be to come but also mesmerizing us and baffling us with new channels of communications.
Mobile marketing, should I use SnapChat, is Facebook my best option, we like LinkedIn but we’ve never had a buyer from LinkedIn and no so many online channels of marketing than ever before.
And more than ever before the first option for most business advisors is to advise the online option usually the Social Media route despite the fact that most almost 40% of marketers admit to having no idea if it works, around 40% say they have a feeling it might work with no supporting facts and around 18% can show a real factual number to support their social media marketing.
Clearly, if the entire marketing budget goes into social media it’s a huge risk – an 80% risk of failure in fact!
Just a note on social media I have said many times before. Clicks, likes and shares do not usually equate at any level to sales. Will clicks likes and shares pay your bills?
So clearly during these uncertain times marketing strategies that are going to be … 8 Tips In Uncertain Times
Clearly thought out and well planned
Built around tested used and proven strategies
Highly targeted campaigns - reducing outgoings, increasing incoming
A mindset focused approach - getting into the buyer’s mental conversation
Becoming more engaged
Socially giving back and revealing a caring side
Risk reduced - adopting a more guerrilla approach to business
And the magical ability to do more with less spend
What’s current for you may not be current for your buyers. What does this mean? It means that just because everyone is doing it that you should do it. This is a huge mistake that marketers make and advise.
Economic uncertainty means you’re going to have to pull things in a little more and give your strategies more thought.
Where are your buyers hanging out?
How will I reach them?
What are they reading?
what do they see everyday?
What are their rituals and habits?
How do you get your message in front of them?
How do you tap into their conversational mindset?
How can you use their thoughts to increase your response?
This isn’t rocket science it just takes some thought and if your marketing isn’t delivering results you need to get those thoughts into your business so you can face these uncertain times head-on and win. It is no accident that whilst everyone is distracted during a recession, post pandemia, and global events by the negative noise there is those that thrive and make a killing during that period. They get new thoughts and work in harmony with those thoughts.
If your in-house marketing team is not giving you anything different you might be one of those that fail to realise your goals because to survive these periods drastic dramatic and sometimes just fine tweaks are needed.
GET CAREFUL
Careful planning should be created and built around testing strategies and tactics. In other works don’t get everyone doing everything on a strategy that has not been tested. That is success suicide. Testing these days is easy and never been easier. All marketing should go through a 12-week multi-variable testing period before a decision is made to run with it or not.
REAL TARGETING
When targeting your customers you cannot hope and pray they see your messages – that is a stupid approach to a system that can be tested. Your customers hang out somewhere, read certain things, they go to the same places daily. Despite the fact that you are told the public might get 20,000 messages passed by their eyes every day scientific tests have shown the brain also has the ability to filter out unwanted noise. In fact, your buyers will actually acknowledge just 400 messages yet their brain is so in tune they will still see any message that is in harmony with their mindset.
MINDSET
So in other words you must use mindset marketing. Again this will take a short period of time but the rewards can be huge and push you through uncertain economies.
ENGAGEMENT
Engagement is a word that is just thrown around in the world of marketing these days. I want to be blunt here – having a social media account that simply posts endless links isn’t engaging in the slightest. Think about yourself for a moment here – what engages you and why does it engage you? Answer that and you’ll have a greater ability to deliver more engagement for your customers. Again – likes and shares do not equate to pounds in the bank so think this out very carefully.
WHAT'S YOUR SOCIAL PURPOSE?
Social purpose is also a new modern term that has gained ground over the past few years. People are now more inclined in certain businesses to support a socially engaging service or product first. Are you giving back? Do you have a bigger purpose in your business to give back to the community? Do you know if you are? If not you need to find out and install some purpose into your business because the facts are showing that this could be what your buyers want. This generation wants purpose and need that purpose to be filled. Are you giving them what they want?
LOW-RISK MARKETING
Reducing risk in your response is easy once you have tested everything and masterfully masterminded what is needed to do that. If you are not getting that from your team you should consider it a priority to bring in extra minds for added input and advice.
MORE RESULTS LESS SPEND
Doing more for less is easier than you think. I have a client that was spending £5,000 each month on his marketing. Not a lot to some but a lot to him. For £5000 he was getting no response. I reduce his mailings by 4,900 and reduce his spending. His response went from zero to 47% due to the campaign now being highly targeted, a mindset focused and part of a bigger system.
Reducing marketing spending is easy. For example, during uncertain times you might have a marketing team that is bloated. That doesn’t have to be 12 in your team it could be three in your team that don’t deliver. You know what to do.
As far as marketing spending and budget goes this is a perfect time for you to get more for less. That means you must get smarter. Just recently I sent over 3000 buyers through a small market using one single tool and barely any investment. It wasn’t what you could call beautiful marketing it was raw, simple, stripped back and to the point using just twitter in a very smart way.
CREATING YOUR CERTAINTY
These are uncertain times yet they are also times when you can create more certainty in your marketing budget and results. To ge more for less this is a time when you need good advice and if that good advice isn’t in your office you must go outside and pull in the right minds to work alongside you.
Here is what we do know. There are companies that have been in business since 1889 – Marks and Spencer. That company has seen everything and thrived and survived and grown and changed. They are here right now due to finding smart advice, willingness and ability to change according to the market changes.
How about you?
Uncertain times will take certain actions. Are you taking actions that might feel uncomfortable, that might challenge your current thinking but are willing to take action to thrive and grow regardless of the economy?
Alan Forrest Smith
Writer. Mentor. Copywriter. Adman. Filmmaker. Director. Breakthrough Expert.
OrangeBeetle.com Since 1999
Message: WhatsApp U.K. 07793069486