DO NOT CUT MARKETING DURING SLOW TIMES!!!

From 1980 to 1985, McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 companies and their marketing spending. After 1985, McGraw-Hill concluded that those firms which had maintained or increased their advertising during the recession in ’81-’82 boasted an average sales growth of 275% over the next five years. But those companies who cut their advertising saw paltry sales growth over the next five years of just 19%. When is the right time to market your business? All the time.

More Viewers. More Value.

Time Warner Cable announced Q2 2008 results today. TWC added 20% more RGUs this quarter than last year's Q2...and this was our best quarter of additiona ever despite a 'weak economy' and more competition than ever!

What does this mean for your business?

First buyer trends have changed. People are staying home more often. How does that effect your business? Do you need to change your offer or creative message?

Secondly, there has never been a better time to advertise on Cable Television. There are more viewers watching more TV!

Focusing on Fundamentals

I learned a very valuable lesson from a group of twelve year old boys last week. You see, I coach basketball for 7th & 8th grade boys. We’ve got a great team; a group of committed young men with a lot of talent. We’ve remained undefeated this season… until last week.

You see, we have so much talent that we have slacked on our fundamentals; rebounding, defense, screens, etc. We played a team with a lot less talent. We took this team for granted. When we were down in the fourth quarter, we failed to adjust. We lost. With one week left in the season, we let our “undefeated” title go.

Since this is a marketing article, let me connect the dots on how this pertains to you. If you have lost your “undefeated” title in your business recently…or you are losing sleep because you fear you may, listen up.

The fundamentals…much like practicing free throws, rebounding drills, passing drills and other mundane practice activities, you must get back to basics with your marketing. When times are good, you can allow yourself to get sloppy and still pull out a win night after night. This won’t work for your business anymore.

Marketing fundamentals include:

• Reaching your core market. Most businesses remember the exception; the customer that drove 80 miles to shop them, the teenager, the senior citizen, the exception to the majority of your business. If your business is a straight line A to Z, focus more on the middle and less on the A’s and Z’s.
• Frequency delivers consumers. Rise above the clutter. Even if your target consumer doesn’t think of you first within your field…change his or her mind. If a consumer sees your advertisement over and over and over, a change will occur in their mind. You will be seen as the leader in your industry…even if in reality you are not. FedEx was not the first business to do overnight shipping; they were the first business to be known for overnight shipping.
• Do not combat things out of your control. A funny thing happens when gasoline doubles its cost within two years…people quit driving. If you are a retail or dining establishment, this could hurt. A lot. Good news, however. For every customer that now refuses to drive over five miles to shop you, there are two or three that won’t drive to that far for your competition. You can’t combat those lost sales, but you can dig deep in your backyard for new opportunities. Besides, these local customers are the ones most likely to shop more often. Treat them like gold and you’ll have new customers for life!
• Be great in all areas! All areas of your business (customer service, fair deals, customer follow up) and all areas of your marketing (consistency, creative quality - better be heads and shoulders above your competition). A great schedule without a great commercial will fail. A great commercial without a great schedule will fail. A great schedule and great spot without great research (i.e. targeted at the wrong consumer) will fail. You catch my drift?
  

To win a tight game (and aren’t they all these days), you need to practice fundamentals. The other part of this equation is you need a team that is coachable (and yes…you Mr. Business Owner are part of that team). Look for part two of this article, ‘Are You Coachable?’ where I will challenge you to improve your skills and be better prepared to win!