Remember when you were a kid lobbying your parents for permission to chase your next adventure? The last words you wanted to hear were "let's wait and see," which you correctly interpreted as "permission denied."
Ironically, that wait-and-see attitude, passed down from mom and dad to a legion of cautionary economic and business observers, is keeping many anxious marketers from pursuing opportunities that are theirs for the taking.
Instead of playing the perennially unsatisfying "waiting game," consider these sound reasons to zig while so many marketers are zagging during the economic downturn.
Big Fish, Smaller Pond. As companies cut marketing budgets and wait for better days, your opportunity to stand out in a smaller field of active competitors can increase dramatically. Less marketing clutter translates into a more direct connection between you and your audience, which can have an immediate impact on your sales performance.
What's more, your investment in marketing during a transitional time can swing brand awareness and preference your way for a gain in market share that holds steady even after the economy recovers.
Shake up your marketing mix. While opportunities to do business exist in this tough economy, "business as usual" doesn't. Success goes to those who take a fresh look at their marketing dollars and find innovative ways to get more out of less.
By redirecting a percentage of your budget to technology assisted marketing tools like email promotions, search engine optimization techniques, Google Adwords, and business blogging, you can tap into more cost-efficient channels of delivering your messages and expanding the influence of your traditional advertising and public relations efforts.
One final word of parental caution: For the best results, use these new tools wisely with guidance from marketing people who know how to blend technology and creativity to impact your bottom line. If you don't, as mom and dad use to say, "don't come crying to us."
For more ideas to drive sales check out archives or visit Ambit Advertising and Public Relations.
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