Marketing Safari

Marketing Tactics and Strategies in Times of Recession

My first ebook has just been published!

As you know if you have been reading my blog (here and here), the Icelandic economy has crashed. We are looking at more people being laid off in the last 6 weeks than have ever been out of a job before. And Iceland isn’t alone, though thankfully, things have not gone as drastically bad in other countries. Not yet, at least and let’s hope it stays that way.

I’ve been involved in marketing for more than a decade now and picked up a trick or two along the way. Low budget marketing has always fascinated me and I love beating big marketing spenders with only a fraction of their buget. The best example is probably the “If The World Could Vote .com” website where we reached just about every single country in the world within a few weeks, without spending a single penny on advertising, PR or other promotions, beating world-wide publishers and websites with much larger advertising budgets.

It sadens me to see companies make fatal reactions to the changed circumstances. Those are uncertain times and yes, people do need to change their marketing strategies. But it is important to realize that the recession does not only bring bad options to the table, it actually brings some great opportunities too. The question is, how you can spot those opportunities and make the most of them.

“The Marketer’s Magic Chest – Marketing tips, tricks and tools to unchain the locks of recession” is the title of my new ebook – a book where I reveal the secrets to success in times of recession. In the book I describe in 30 pages several different marketing perspectives and strategies that have proven themselves when the economy is tough. Methods that have helped companies leave their competitors in the dust. I’ve collected real life cases and success stories that explain how it can be done.

If there’s only one book you will be able to read this year, this one should be it.

You can get the book for $25, probably the best marketing investment you can make all year.

You can now download the book for free! And you're welcome to share it on your blog or elsewhere.

Download The Marketer's Magic Chest

Get the book and become a winner!

Hjörtur

Proud To Be Gay-Friendly

We had Reykjavik Gay Pride a few days ago. The festival started a few years ago and has been growing very fast. This year, the focus was on same sex families, gay adoption and gay marriages. Since the Gay Pride started here, the gay/lesbian society has come far in fighting for their rights. About 40.000 people, gay, lesbian and straight, participated this year, which is quite many, considering only 300.000 people live in Iceland.

For me, I don't really understand that gays and lesbians need to fight for their rights. Or rather, I don't understand how a modern society can accept laws where gays and lesbians have different rights from others. But I'm not writing this post to debate that.

There's one thing I would like to share with you that caught my attention on that day. It's an ad that was published in the countries largest newspaper.

"Queen of The Skies" is the title

An Icelandic airline proudly advertises that one of their stewardesses was just crowned Drag queen of the year in Iceland. Below they announce that they are a proud sponsor of Samtokin 78 - The National Queer Organisation and of the International Gay Football Tournament in Iceland in April 2009.

And the reaction? I spoke to the marketing manager and she said they got quite a few calls because of the ad, all but one with positive feedback. While many companies realize how much value the gay market can have, they are not as many who shout out loud that they are gay friendly.

I'm interested in knowing what you would think the reaction would be in your society? Can you imagine a company publishing an ad like that? Has it been done?

Do you know examples of similar ads where a company takes a strong stand on a debated issue? I would love to know.

Update: I asked my network on LinkedIn what the reaction would be in their society and got some interesting answers. You can check them out here!

Hjörtur

ps. before you send me more love letters, I just like to make it clear that I'm both happily married and straight :)

There's more coming up, so feel free to subscribe to my feed or share via StumbleUpon, digg, Sphinn, del.icio.us or elsewhere.

Yes, Social Media Marketing Does Matter!

Peter Kim asks some interesting questions on his blog beingpeterkim. One of them is "Does Social Media Marketing Matter?"

To see if it matters, you can take the test and measure your score. In the test he has some excellent examples of social media success and fiasco. There is one problem with the whole thing though. It is a bit like asking if this ad that was published here or there got you to buy this or that to measure the impact of advertising. If you ask people, majority of them will reply that advertising does not affect their buying behaviour. Still, years of research have shown that ads really do affect our buying behaviour. Yes, we trust recommendations from friends the most, but ads still have influence (though it seems to be rapidly declining).

It doesn't work in the way that we buy a product after seeing a single ad or after single interaction with a brand in social media. That's the exception. You need to see ads repeatedly for them to sink in, and you need to interact repeatedly with a brand through social media channels to build up relationships and trust. And that's what social media is about, building relationships and trust and reinforcing the brand. Social media is the perfect medium for that. And you do that by listening more than anything else. When you have built trust, you come much closer to equal recommendations from a personal friend, as we have discussed in my post "Do You Trust a Blogger".

We can take a look at his test and I'll give my view on the questions:

+3 points:

• Switched cable, internet, or phone providers after Comcast Must Die or Sleeping Technician
No, but if I were to switch, this might very likely influence my decision
• Bought a brand other than Nikon after the blogger campaign
Don't know that one
• Bought shoes from Zappos after interacting on Twitter
I'm much more likely to take them to consideration, yes.
• Bought a Blendtec blender
Don't know this one.

+2 points:

• Stopped shopping at Target after the Times Square billboard
Nope, but their disrespect to me as a blogger results in less loyalty. I'm not willing to go through as much effort to shop at Target as before.
• Stopped shopping at Wal-Mart after the fake blog
Nope, but I probably won't trust any bloggers blogging about Wal-Mart for a long time.
• Switched laptops after reading about Dell Hell
I'm a Mac guy and don't expect that to change. But if I were to buy a PC, this would go into the evaluation of a Dell versus another brand.
• Purchased a Kodak product after reading posts from their chief blogger
Don't read their blog, but if I heard about something interesting there, sure.

+1 point:

• Subscribed to a magazine after joining its Facebook group
If I see that all my friends are in the group, I would probably wonder if it wasn't time I subscribed too.
• Eaten at McDonald's after reading their corporate social responsibility blog
It sure makes me feel that my money is better spent then I would otherwise feel, so it raises my price tolerance.




• Booked a flight on Southwest or Delta after reading their blogs
Nope, but it would get me to include them in my price checking.
• Booked a hotel stay at Starwood or Marriott after reading their blogs
Nope, but it would get me to include them in my price checking.

-2 points for any of the following:

• Became a regular viewer of Aqua Teen Hunger Force after the "bomb scare"
Nope, but it did make me curious so if I would have come across an episode, I would have checked it out.
• Bought Doritos after the consumer-generated Super Bowl ad
Nope, but if I would have been one of those generating the ads, I sure would have.
• Joined Facebook after hearing about it on your local evening news
Very unlikely.
• Bought a Sony PSP as a Christmas 2006 gift anyway
Sure.
• Have ever been Rickroll'd
Actually, I have never been Rickroll'd

So how'd you score? Check out BeingPeterKim to see what your score should tell you.

While Peter Kim's article does raise some interesting questions and discussions, it's not realistic, because it assumes that the success we should be measuring is direct sales. While I agree that increasing sales is the marketers end goal, I don't think that it means it should be the goal of social media marketing nor the meter to measure. In both the + points and the - points, it is not enough alone to make me decide whether to buy or not, but it is likely to influence my decision.

So the most important question it leaves us with is how we should measure success of social media marketing. Do we measure sales that links we share in social media generates? Number of subscribers or friends added? Customer service issues solved through social media? Or good tips on improving service and product development that we get?

What metrics do you use to measure your success of social media marketing?

Hjörtur

ps. remember to subscribe to my feed, if you haven't already. You are also welcome to share on Facebook, digg, StumbleUpon or your blog (just remember to link back).

Marketing Tactics in a Recession

Remember the Y2K computer break down? Neither do I. But there always has to be some scare it seems. This time around, it's the RECESSION! A spouky, scary thing that tells everybody to keep their pockets closed and wait it off.

One of the first thing companies cut down is often marketing. I mean, it seems so easy. It's just cost, you don't have to sell anything, close anything down nor lay anyone off. Or what? What affect does cutting down on marketing have? Usually that means less sales, smaller market share, and even less sales so eventually that company is going to be forced into real cost cuts.

Warren Buffet, one of the world's richest men, once revealed his big secret to success in business: "Buy low, sell high!" When everyone is selling you buy. When everyone is buying you sell. If you want to get to the top, you will have to go upstream.

The same goes for marketing. If your competition is cutting back on advertising, increase your advertising. Fill the vacuum they are leaving behind with your message. It will be easier to grab the attention of potential customers when the competition is not there and it will even be cheaper too if the media gets a bit more desperate selling the ad space.

If recession is really hitting you hard, you're going to need marketing more than ever. You may have to cut down on expencive mass marketing, but mass marketing is dead anyway, so who cares. So what can you do instead?

1. Internet marketing
Increase your effort in Internet marketing, SMM (social media marketing) and blog marketing. The Internet has some very effective alternatives where you can get to your primary target group on a very low budget. Engage in the conversation. Just be targeted.

2. Guerilla marketing
Use guerilla marketing tactics to get to the customers, sponsor events and make headlines by doing something out of the ordinary for your customer.

3. CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)
Increase your CSR efforts. Don't cut CSR out though it may be tempting. The "correct reason" for not cutting CSR out is because people are going to be needing it more than before. But the other reason is that if people are low on money, they are going to appreciate all social responsibility you and your company take on, much more than if nothing worries them. If they can imagine they might need a helping hand, they will respect the giving hand so much more.

4. Word-of-mouth
Remember that it's much cheaper to keep your present customers than getting new ones. The next thing that is cut down after marketing is the service level. All those little extras are removed. Portions shrink. Bags and parking start to cost. Well think about this: If your competitors think this way, they become very easy to beat in the competition. If everyone else thinks this way, including your customers, they are going to really value your free parking, your little extras and those small pleasures they are denying themselves. You are sending them the message that you're not going anywhere. You are staying on the market and continuing to provide excellent service. So they are all coming to you and if you're really good enough, they will bring all their friends with them.

Most see a recession as a depression. Others see the opportunities it brings. It will never be as easy to gain market share as in a recession. Carpe diem!

Always look at the bright side of life
Hjörtur

UPDATE: I've released an ebook on this subject called "The Marketer's Magic Chest - Marketing tips, tricks and tools to unlock the chains of recession".

Happy New Year!

Dear reader, I wish you a happy new year and thank you for reading my blog in the passing year. The blog is young, only started in October, but though I still have few regular readers, I'm pleased to see how many read my blog and that is an encouragement to improve even further in the new year with more regularly updated blog.

The year 2008 is going to be a great year. With slow economy more companies will consider alternative ways in marketing, which is good news for Internet Marketing. Companies will also realize the importance of blogging and social media for their reputation and marketing, 'cause whether they have decided to participate in it or not, they will be talked about. People will tell. The blogosphere is the market today, and every customer is that terrifying critic we remember from Ratatouille, 'cause they will write reviews, blogs and post in web communities. And if you missed it when it was written, Google will help you find that criticism anytime for years to come.

This is the never sleeping eye that is watching over the quality of your products and services, your treatment of workers, agreements and marketing promises and if you don't live up to what you stand for, people will find out and people will tell. We are going to see improving ethics in business, more active Corporate Social Responsibility policies and a "better" business in the new year.

I celebrate the new year with excitement and look forward to embrace new opportunities and new challenges in the year 2008.

I wish you all the best.

Hjörtur Smárason