How Will Retailers Fight the Recession?

75 % of Americans polled say we are in a recession, according to a recent study. Big-box retailers typically have the resources to withstand the slowdown but even they have to be inventive.

The real question is how do entrepreneurs and small & medium sized businesses creatively build their companies in a slow economy? What proactive, low-cost, "guerilla marketing tactics" will they use in order to keep their customers coming in? And how do you communicate with your loyal customers?

Time to wake up and smell the fava beans (maybe with a nice Chianti)! Businesses who rely heavily on print advertising, and other difficult to measure media, are doomed to diminishing returns. We've all heard the 80/20 rule where your top 20% of customers generate 80% of sales (thank you Mr. Pareto for that little pearl!). The problem is most companies, large & small, have a very limited view of who those top 20% really are, let alone the next 20%, the 20% after that and so on. Customer segmentation is the key!

So, we extend a question to the blogosphere - what guerilla marketing tactics work best in a bad economy? Come one, come all and make your voice heard!

No More "Pay & Pray" Advertising!

Ok, boys and girls...quiz time!  If you went to Las Vegas and you kept throwing your money away playing craps or any other game, would you still keep playing?  Ok, so it is a ridiculously rhetorical question, but I'm going somewhere with this.

As a business owner, executive or entrepreneur how do you measure the effectiveness of your advertising?  Can you put an ROI on your advertising dollars?  If not, you are merely gambling!  You are involved in "pay & pray" advertising, where you pay and pray that people respond to your ad.

Loyalty programs are very popular and they offer companies the ability to track customers, eliminate "faceless customers" and understand the value each customer. Stop blowing your budget on untrackable campaigns and start mining the value of your existing customers.  

So, let me pose a question to all you business owners, execs & entrepreneurs - as recession fears loom, how will you use marketing & advertising to enhance your position in the marketplace???

$4.00 A Gallon...Holy MOLY!!!

Today we heard gas may reach $4.00 a gallon by summer.  Now, we aren't math prodigies but that's 400 pennies 0r 40 dimes...hmmm maybe my children's piggy-banks hold a gallon or two worth of pocket change?

What does this have to do with customer loyalty programs you might ask?  Well, my dear bloggers discretionary spending drops when consumers have to decide between fuel and their favorite hoagie, latte or that nifty high definition Blu-Ray DVD player (I hear they're awesome, by the way.)

So, if consumer spending decreases, how do you keep your business moving forward?  The answer lies deep, ok it's not that deep, it is right under your nose...YOUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS!  Breath taking isn't it, hold the applause please...no really, we couldn't have done it without all the little people.  

Levity aside, your existing customers and their value to your business hold the key and by knowing who your most valuable customers are you can use that information to sent precise marketing messages.  If you are not segmenting customers you need to be!