Are you cutting back on marketing, or stepping it up? In an article on Proactive Marketing during a Recession http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/latest-news/mar05/leverage.html/, Wyatt DuBois writes about companies that move into high-gear when times get tough. “Turning Adversity Into Advantage: Does Proactive Marketing During a Recession Pay Off?” In his study he shows that entering a recession with a “pre-established strategic emphasis on marketing; an entrepreneurial culture; and a sufficient reserve of under-utilized workers, cash, and spare production capacity are…” the ones who will gain the competitive advantage.
In my July 2008 Newsletter http://www.stelzl.us/concepts/2008/july.asp I wrote about making the most of JMF (Joint Marketing Funds). In this article I reviewed ways to maximize your share of these funds. But there’s one thing that should be added. In a coaching session yesterday I was reviewing plans for an upcoming demand generation event scheduled for later this week. The the sponsoring reseller has successfully raised 15K for this event, and this is the second time they’ve done it this year. How do they do it?
1. Having a strategic plan is important. There has to be a well established plan that says, “We are doing this and here’s what we expect”. Talking as though you might do something never works. This company has resolve and intends to be a leader regardless of what everyone else is doing.
2. The president of the company must get involved (I am talking more to smaller resellers here, but in any case, executive management must be there). I find that smaller companies are often surprised that they can even get marketing dollars; You can. But having someone on the administrative or even marketing side of the company is not nearly as effective. Commitment from the top to focus with an investing partner is important to the equation. This company’s president gets on the phone and reminds his partners of their commitment and the requirement to invest when times are difficult.
3. Finally, fund raising is more than a request – it’s a requirement. If you’re going to partner with a vendor, you should be requiring them to invest and now is the time. Some companies choose their vendor partners for the technology. While technology is important, investment is more important. This company is aligning with companies that are willing to invest, and then taking a leadership role in driving sales for that vendor.
Regardless of what politicians are saying, the economy is not in good shape and companies are cutting back, even if your numbers are not yet reflecting this. Now is the time to strengthen your strategic marketing plans, step up demand generation, and become an asset to the companies you are calling on. And while your competitors are struggling and cutting back, it’s time to take back some of the available ground in your region. Marketing is going to be the differentiator here and marketing dollars are needed to do it. Don’t be fooled into thinking there is no money – it’s just harder to get.
It never ceases to amaze me how much an individual or orgaisation can learn by just reading blogs, every single day thousands of pieces of great information are published, normally just a view point from a lone person, this great information if gathered together is more than enough to chance most businesses beyond belief, lets hope this great source of knowledge sharing continues and grows.
I often spend far too much time reading and replying and have seen many great phrases, this is one of my favourites;
The key to a successful campaign is to ensure that we understand what response the client is expecting from the distribution. It is from this perspective that we can attain the aims of the client and retain a strong working relationship now and in to the future…
If you read and think about this statement it truly makes you think, and motivates you into thinking how you can chance your attitudes.
Once again, thank you for your blog !