We Should Always Market Like There’s a Recession

The recession has had devastating effects on our families, friends, businesses and towns. Watching things unravel around us, we’re worried about taking risks and unwilling to spend money where we can’t measure the return on investment. I’ve reduced my own marketing budget and I’m constantly looking for creative methods of connecting with people.

Advertising is expensive and becoming less effective, so how do we create awareness when times are even more dire? We need to add low cost marketing strategies to our existing business plans and get back to the basics. Find ways to advertise and create conversations about our businesses without exceeding our budgets or putting our businesses in jeopardy.

Use Public Relations and Find Stories that Fit Your Business

Let’s get creative, throw out the old rules and start breaking some new ground. We’re most creative when the options that were readily available to us quickly disappear. That’s where PR  comes in. When we can’t rely on the traditional advertising methods and techniques we need to expand our options and search for solutions that extend our reach and add credibility to our businesses. We can read the news, follow journalists and media outlets in our areas and find ways we can connect with issues and involve our businesses in the solutions.

Show Your Customers You’re Still There For Them

Add more Public Relations practices to your plan. I’m not talking about media relations, but “public” relations. Even if you have a small client base, reach out your previous and existing customers and give them a reason to talk about you and pass on your message. Offer some low-cost incentives for being loyal to your company. Consider customer appreciate days or contests that reward customers for their opinions and loyalty. We can’t be afraid to ask for opinions and feedback. Although we don’t like criticism, it can mean the difference between survival and bankruptcy.

Fill the Gaps Your Competitors are Leaving

We need to stay one step ahead of the competition. They’re being hit with the recession, too. While they’re pulling back, we can push our businesses forward with consistent positive communications. It’s not difficult to differentiate ourselves when we’re listening to your customer’s most immediate concerns.  We need to ensure we know where people are talking about us and what they are saying. We can’t afford to miss an opportunity to create an open and positive conversation with our business community. We’re not the only ones looking for gaps and if we’re not paying attention, someone else will step in and take over the conversation.

Always Focus on Building Your Story

Businesses have survived recessions before and what we need to remember is people are still going to buy products and services and plan for the future. They’re just being cautious and becoming more educated about their purchases. When customers search for products to purchase they’re going to be looking for trustworthy companies that are generate positive buzz.

I believe that the recession is best time assess our marketing efforts and create a plan that focuses more on the benefits of our products and the relationships with our customers. Once we start using non-traditional marketing and stepping away from the expected methods of advertising, it’s easy to realize how disconnected from our customers we’ve become.

Public relations isn’t just about what media attention can do for us. It’s about being part of the story and giving people something to talk about.  Read the newspaper and watch the news, the people who get the most exposure are the people who put their customers and communities first.

People are changing the way they live. We just have to figure out how we fit into the picture.

The Future of Public Relations?

Last week, Jason Falls sparked a debate about the future of Public Relations in his post Social Media is the Responsibility of Public Relations.

Falls points out, many companies don’t have the resources to employ Social Media specialists and must rely on internal resources to create and maintain consumer and business relationships online. He suggests that social networking must become a function of Public Relations.

In my mind, social media is essentially public relations in the online world. Divide the category up by component — blogs, social networks, microblogging, podcasts/Web TV, wikis/collaborative software — they each ladder in some way to a component of public relations — writing, corporate communications, community relations, media relations, event management.

I agree.  As people demand more from brands and service providers, Social Media is enabling us to connect with our prospects and customers in very meaningful ways. Blogs, forums and social networking are changing the way companies interact with customers. Our communications are becoming more targeted and personal. We can expand out market coverage and create the opportunity to interact directly with the people who purchase our products. Moreover, companies that make the effort to adopt current technologies will gain an advantage over their competitors.

Solutions for Small Business

So what is the solution for the small business that does not have a Public Relations, Marketing or Social Media department?

Companies incapable of meeting the ever-increasing demands of Public Relations will need to outsource most of their Social Networking functions. In the future, Social Media Specialists will be in high demand as more companies realize the importance of these activities. For those of us willing to learn new technologies and participate, we have the ability to create manageable internal social networking strategies. If we want them to be effective, we will need to acquire the appropriate skills and dedicate ourselves to the ongoing process.

As media outlets become smaller, we need to find new ways to gain publicity and get people talking about our companies. We can’t always rely on media contacts to relay our positive image. We need to create continuous strategies we can monitor and alter depending on our observed results. Through direct contact, we have an opportunity to discover what our customer wants, gather relevant ideas and present a solution to their immediate problems.  If we create valuable connections, and refrain from using Social Media as another medium for our sales pitch, we have the opportunity to use these interactions to create a positive public image and develop desirable product.

Falls predicts:

Social Media will evolve into components of a sophisticated public relations effort.

Businesses that have clearly developed Social Media strategies, and use both Marketing and Public Relations resources, will be further ahead than companies that ignore online networking, or misuse it as a form of advertising and promotion. The main purpose of social networking is to create ongoing conversations. Companies that do not participate in the conversation, or use it solely as a means to push products in the faces of potential buyers will fail.

As more and more of our potential customers are using social networks to evaluate businesses and brands, we need to learn how to start conversations, build relationships and grow communities.

What do you think?

Pamela Weir is a Marketing Copywriter. If you are looking for a sales writer with experience creating website content, press releases, media one-sheets, and warm letters, please visit her Copywriting Services page for information.