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Hello Folks -

While the US economy is not officially in a recession, most customers are becoming more cost-conscious as prices in key areas increase. Their needs are changing, but as a marketer how do you know what, exactly, has changed? My "Marketing Strategy for a Tough Economy" explains a method for projecting and integrating change into the marketing mix. Matthew Parente takes it a step further, addressing how to continually create new value ― no matter what the economy ― in "Turning a Down Economy into Opportunity."

Other keys to thriving in a weak economy involve: (a) keeping the customers happy (so they'll not only become repeat customers but will also spread the word about your products and services), (b) effectively getting in front of customers on their terms, and (c) interacting with customers through research.

"Everything You Need To Know About Word of Mouth Marketing" from Andy Sernovitz, "Social Media Content Creation Process" from Geoff Livingston, and "Qualitative Market Research - Attract Quality Respondents With The Four W's" by Mark Goodin address these, respectively.

Enjoy!

Bobette Kyle

The business of marketing ― meeting needs profitably ― means recognizing and responding to customer priorities while controlling your own expenses. More so than ever, it is about giving people what they want when and how they want it. Today's empowered consumer wants to be in charge ― asked, not told. Give them what they want and you'll be rewarded. Nice concept, right? One problem: in a changing economy, your customers' priorities and needs change as well. How do you keep up with changing needs? Here are some methods for staying ahead of the curve.

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One of the biggest areas of concern for companies is the effect of external forces on their business. While each individual company has no control over such things as the economy, the weather, and what the competition does, these things have a huge effect on individual businesses. There's a fairly simple course of action to take control of the business and insulate the organization from outside forces, yet many companies, even Fortune 500 companies, don't fully appreciate its value. This simple tool? Effective planning.

Okay. Here’s the quick version. Everything you wanted to know about word of mouth marketing but were afraid to ask. It all comes down to this: Happy customers are your best advertisers. If people like you and like what you do, they will tell their friends. Here's how to make that happen.

Many folks ask how to go about creating social media for their company. As a service to the industry, Geoff has made available an open source version of a draft social media content development process. (You can find the final version in his book "Now Is Gone: A Primer on New Media for Executives and Entrepreneurs.") This process is general enough to guide development of specific initiatives. It does not recommend blogging or video, per say. Rather the process allows content creation to move towards the market's needs, and within the company's resources. There are 14 steps in all.

Similar to the classic marketing mix for products and services, getting quality respondents for your qualitative market research has a mix of ingredients, too. They are who, why, what and where. WHO is being targeted, WHY should respondents care, WHAT'S in it for respondents and WHERE will the respondents come from? Here's how each of these critical elements impacts your fieldwork.

Affordable Market Research
by Bobette Kyle
http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/marketing_management/market_research.htm

If you need a refresher on the difference between qualitative and quantitative research -- or primary versus secondary -- take a look at this article from a few years back. There are more ways for small businesses to get customer input today (so the examples are no longer comprehensive), but the basic definitions still apply.

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