Emerge Bigger, Better, Stronger

Remember the bionic man? In a fatal crash that should have killed him, he survived. And the key to his survival – technology. Technology may also allow you to become bigger, better and stronger in this extremely difficult economy. If you haven’t looked at how technology can help you be more impactful in your marketing efforts, now would be a good time to evaluate just that. Internet based marketing efforts, be it a website, blog, social network, email marketing, online advertising, search engine optimization, pay-per-click, viral or any of the other internet marketing means, can give you a boost when traditional means have maxed out or proven less than effective. It’s cost effective, measurable, and best of all, can be truly “inter-active.” One of the main reasons that the new wave of web based communication platforms have taken off so quickly is because it’s the only means that allow you to converse with your customers. Want to learn what they think of your product, service or company? Ask them. And then listen, respond and react, even if you don’t like what you hear. Integrate technology into your overall marketing efforts. You’ll wonder why you didn’t sooner.

Connecting with your customers and clients, and understanding and addressing their ‘wants and needs’ is critical when times are tough, budgets are tight, and spending is extremely discretionary. Those who build client loyalty will survive, and thrive. Those who do not connect with their customers will be weeded out. In this kind of market, Darwinian principals are extremely evident. Just watch CNN for a couple hours and see just how quickly a corporation can fall apart.

Don’t be paralyzed. Keep moving. Use this challenging economy to strengthen your organization. When times are great, mistakes and weaknesses are masked. When times are tough, they are magnified. Now more than ever you need to have the right people, focused on the right things, utilizing the right resources. Right? If your executive team is out of alignment, time to get them working together or make some changes. Have some product lines or services that aren’t building customer loyalty or driving profit, may be time to shift those resources elsewhere. Make the tough choices that you know are right. If you don’t have the right talent, there has probably never been a better time to get it. In a down market, talent is abundant if you can go out and get it. If you need a fresh perspective, go to someone on your board or outside the organization completely to work with you on evaluating effectiveness of your team, your operations, and your marketing.

Identify areas of weakness and opportunity and react appropriately and aggressively.
Those who do will come out ahead. Those who do not may not survive.

If you want an objective perspective on how to strengthen both your marketing efforts and relationship with your customers, give me a call.