Okay, we’re all starting 2009 in one of the toughest economies in half a century.   No one really knows what’s ahead. So let’s take a look at what you do know:

1. You’ve got to keep marketing, otherwise your customers will disappear.  

2. You’ve got an incredibly tight budget. 

3. You’ve got to show results for every dollar you spend.

Clearly, the key is to invest only in your absolute “biggest bang” tactics. So, you might think that auditing your tactics would be the logical place to start.  But there’s an even better starting point: auditing your messages.

That’s right.  Before you start chunking out how much you want to spend on search, online, events, and other marketing, sit down and analyze what you’re saying across all those platforms:  For example, is the visual and verbal messaging of your Website consistent with what your sales and customer service team are actually saying to prospects? 

Most important, is it the right messaging for a recession where, as The Wall Street Journal puts it, “exuberance and excess have made way for prudence and pragmatism … and frugality is, once again, a virtue.”  Pay particular attention to your proposals because boilerplate that was on target for last year’s priorities may now knock you completely out of the running for 2009 contracts.

Hone in on your key messages.  Align those messages with “recession realities.”  Next, sequence those messages for what is most important to each audience.  Then it becomes much clearer to see which tactics will give you the biggest bang.

We recently conducted this type of message audit for a client in Florida who was planning a major direct mail campaign.  We clarified the right messages for the brand, aligned them with the “spirit of the times,” and sequenced them for each of the company’s three main audiences.  From this perspective, the client was able to see that a mass mailing was not the right vehicle to carry the brand’s messaging to its audiences.  Instead, the client used what she would have spent on direct mail to create a program that integrated a whitepaper with a highly-visual PowerPoint presentation delivered remotely via GoToMeeting.  The result: a 100% increase in new business compared to the previous quarter and past year average.

The point is that with so much on the line in 2009, messaging can be a vital ally in saving money and boosting your success.

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We were talking with a prospective client the other day – sales director of a handyman franchise.  The franchise has a terrific concept, solid business model, great Web site and they’ve invested in terrific branding.  Even so, they’re having a tough time getting call-backs on franchise inquiries. 

“It’s the housing crash,” the sales director said.  “Prospects don’t want to be in a market they perceive as stagnant.  It’s tough to show promise when existing franchisees are getting slammed.”

Remember the saying that when a door slams, a window opens?  Well, after our conversation with the franchise sales manager, we went looking for one.

What we found was a New York Times article: Contractors Are Kept Busy Maintaining Abandoned Homes.  Hmmmmmmm.  Maybe a handyman business could move into the abandoned-home upkeep market … maybe they could also maintain properties that homeowners are renting until the market improves and they can find buyers … maybe franchisees could forge links with referrers like realtors and “hub” customers like lenders … in fact, maybe the national franchise could make these links … now that could be a double win for the franchise in attracting new franchisees and in seeing better revenues from existing ones.  Hmmmmmmm.

That may or may not prove to be the right window for that particular franchise.   The point is that even if it’s not, it may lead to one. Just flipping your perspective could reveal an all-new value proposition that literally sends ideas about being “stagnant” out the window! 

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By Judy Kirkland

Maybe we should all pay as much attention to our internal communications as we do to marketing messaging … especially if we care about profits!

I was chatting on the phone with a young friend of mine who works for a mid-sized company.  “Gotta go,” she said. “Our ‘leader’ has called us all into a big meeting to us get up to speed on some new customer service strategy.” 

About 5 minutes later, she forwarded me a note from her Blackberry.  It was a lusciously tempting HTML email from The Cheesecake Factory offering a special — just $1.50 a slice.  When I scrolled through the chain of people who’d forwarded the email, I saw at least four people I knew were also attending that meeting.  Yikes!    At least 25% of ‘Our Leader’s” audience was out to lunch – and actively thinking about dessert.

“Pay attention!” I texted.

“Can’t,” she texted back.  “This PowerPoint’s pure valium.” Wow. That’s a wake-up call – literally! 

That marketing message from The Cheesecake Factory was carefully targeted, beautifully crafted and had one heck of a good value proposition.  No such investment had been made in the internal communication because it was “just for employees.”

That’s common, yet it’s also alarming.  After all, what was at stake in that presentation was the company’s ability to engage employees to improve customer satisfaction, retention, and repeat business.   

Afterwards, I asked my friend what the customer service strategy was. Her answer, “We’re supposed to pretend we’re interested in customers.”  Oh gosh! That’s not at all what “Our Leader” wants.  He wants employees to be proactive, helpful, cheerful, resourceful … and really interested in customers. 

What was the disconnect?  There was no value proposition:  Why does taking an interest in customers matter? Well, maybe it will help the company grow (so staff can enjoy better salaries and advancement opportunities). Maybe the company will give the staff free vacation time for a 30% increase in customer retention. Maybe it will take away stress and help staff get home on time and in a better mood.  The point is, if you’re trying to engage any audience – even a captive one – you need the right value proposition.  And the sweeter you make it, the faster you see results.

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By Judy Kirkland

Nick and I were talking with a new client, a home improvement franchisor who recently launched his concept and has seven franchisees on board. He asked us what he could do to generate leads for people interested in buying one of his franchises.  We asked what he had tried.  He mentioned some IFA shows and newspaper advertising.  “But,” he said quickly, “advertising doesn’t work.  I spent $25,000 on the newspaper and didn’t get a single bite.”  Not even ONE bite???

Turns out that entire $25,000 was spent for a tiny ad in the “Business Opportunities” classifieds that run each week in The Wall Street Journal’s Franchising section (there’s an online version, too). Our client had been to a seminar with a franchising guru who told attendees this was the #1 advertising medium for reaching people thinking about buying a franchise. Well, for our particular client that so-called best practice meant $25,000 down the drain.

“Who is your ideal franchisee,” we asked. The more we worked through the answer, the more it became clear that his best franchisee prospect probably never even reads the Journal.  Instead, there are a handful of building-trade publications they probably do read —word for word every month. In these publications, $25,000 would buy a heck of a lot more than a tiny ad. Plus, by targeting his exposure to people already in the building trades, the people coming in through this channel would be pre-qualified and would have the best skills and background for getting their franchise off to a quick, successful start.

Whether you’re a franchise, an association or a business, the take-away here is the same: Knowing who you want to reach determines what tactics to use.  In fact, it can also knock out tactics you don’t want to use.  For example, if you have a limited budget and you’re trying to reach Baby Boomers (age 41-61), then search marketing and e-newsletters may not give you as big a return as print media. Why? Forrester research shows that people in this age group favor print and are most likely to arrive at a Web site because they’ve seen the URL mentioned in a print ad, packaging, book or article. 

Bottom line: Take “best practices” and the things “everyone is doing” with a grain of salt!  Start with what you really know about your audience. 

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When the economy gets tough, marketing is the one thing not to cut. But you don’t have to spend a fortune on marketing, either.

Case in point: my mailbox brims with beautifully produced newsletters from mortgage brokers, insurance agents and realtors. They’re slick, well-written, gorgeously designed, and cost a pretty penny to produce. But they’re filled with canned articles and I get so tired of looking at those same stock photos of edgy young people wearing black-rimmed glasses. I hardly glance at these gorgeous marketing pieces. But there is a newsletter I read top to bottom…

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