Know What The Trades Are Advising Your Clients

Dec 15, 2008 by Mark Maier

Since the official declaration that we are in a recession is out, the experts in various trades are dispensing advice to your advertising clients and should know what they are saying.  Not that you have to agree or disagree but so you can position your property and offerings to dovetail with industry experts.  In an article from MediaPost called "Look Online Before You Leap", Jason Keith says cliche sayings like "don't stop spending on marketing" and "steal market share" are commonplace but what do they really mean?  I'll paraphrase some of his suggestions and then offer some additional practical advice to make it work in your sales situation whether you sell Radio, Television, or Interactive....

1)Spend wisely. This seems logical, but too often companies simply repeat the same activities with smaller budgets. Repeating half of the online marketing and site development that you had the year before doesn't make a lot of sense if consumer attitudes and priorities change. The answer to this problem can be found in the second suggestion. (revist your customer marketing profile, know what the new budget, expectations, and ROI factors are and then propose a plan that makes sense to the new goals.)

2)Ask your customers. Customers' online behavior patterns tend to change during a slow economy. New behaviors may require new functionality and new messages. Interview or survey your target users to understand how their attitudes and priorities are changing their online behavior. (A simple exit interview on a Saturday afternoon for several hours may give you the data you need to help your client, make sure you identify yourself and what you represent and ask permission before polling, quantify and qualify all of your results in a written report.)

3)Add value. In an economic downturn, value is king, and customers want to be assured that they're getting more than their dollar's worth. The web is one of the fastest, most cost-effective channels to change and get the message out. Look for easy ways to alter an existing offering to make it more valuable, such as extending access to online help or a support program that already exists. (Point out your value propositions regardless of what media you are selling, make sure the client understands the value of each additional customer and that your job is to deliver leads to them whether they be by e-mail, clicks, phone calls, or in-store visits.  Make sure you can deliver the value that you propose and expectations are clear on both sides.) 

4)Don't go it alone. Look for partners, existing or otherwise, you can leverage to make a more valuable combined offer that increases incentives for customers and benefits both companies. For example, companies in the hotel and airline industries often partner on advertising spend and customer loyalty programs to distribute marketing costs and provide a more valuable offering. (Multi-vendor promotions have been a staple of the past, the suggestion here is to look at aligning with targeted partners delivering the offer that will spur the greatest interest and match consumer desires leading to results)

5)Align your measurements. Another great thing about online marketing is that many things are measureable and can deliver quick feedback. As you make changes to your online offering, adjust your metrics and success measurements to ensure you're getting the intended results. (Are all the campaign tracking tools in place, does your client know how to ask where they came from as a lead?  Print out a tracking sheet for your campaign and collect it each week.  Put your property or properties at the top and list out other mediums that they advertise with below. Remind the client that this is something we can't do for them, they need to track e-mail, click-throughs, phone calls, and in-store visits so the measurements are accurate.)

6)Take the road more traveled. It's probably not the best time to test a new or little-known technology. Stick with tried-and-true technological vehicles you've had success with in the past. Your efforts will be more successful, and you'll get the most bang for your online marketing buck. (If you have delivered successful campaigns to your clients with your medium before, this should be fairly easy to duplicate but remember that an offer that worked 6 months ago may not be relevant to consumers now, value is king.)

7)Keep your eyes and ears open. Even though it may not be the time to invest in cutting-edge technology, don't stop looking. Dedicate some time and resources to stay informed, keeping an eye out for the next game changer. (Bringing your client an innovative way to generate leads and traffic can help them use a familiar medium to still use cutting edge offers and new incentives.  Our job as sellers gets tougher each day as we look to be the innovators with ideas that provide solutions, remember to provide the solution that fits the desire.)

This is not a complete list of the suggestions that will come out but thinking about how you will position your solutions for your clients now can help you prepare something to bring to your clients before they ask for it.  At some point if you aren't providing solutions and ideas, your competitors are and you could find yourself with reduced or even no budget.

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