EDWARD S. SUCHERMAN & ASSOCIATES LTD.

Today is June 24, 2009, and we remain in a deep recession.  I agree with most economists – we will begin recovering in mid to late August.  The recovery will be slow and unemployment will reach 10%+ nationally before it begins to improve.  Locally, it could be even worse than that.   Also, we can anticipate some dips in the recovery – as commercial real estate is re-valued, more foreclosures take place, and the government stops spending and begins cutting back to stop inflation.

You own a business.  So, how do you survive the summer and make the most of the anticipated recovery?

First, we all need to realize that the economy WILL come back.  We all tend to be pessimistic when we are depressed.  But remember that our nation also has huge economic strengths, like American innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, and our work ethic.  Don’t discount these subjective elements – we created the greatest economy on earth because of them and have used them to weather every recession since we became a nation, in 1776.  We have a system that inspires and encourages ideas and productivity.  And all this money that has been spent should start paying off soon.  Road and infrastructure construction projects mean jobs.  Competition in health insurance means lower rates every month.  Foreclosures mean better prices in real estate, both residential and commercial.  Several large banks have already paid back some $70 billion, with interest.  GM will come back a leaner, meaner company – and better ratings from JD Power and Consumer Reports mean that American-made cars will finally begin taking back some of the market they have lost to foreign competitors.  Soon, it might even be cool to own a Chevy again, especially if it is a Volt (all electric).

So, the first thing you have to do is begin looking at reality and history.  Cheer up – history says we have endured the worst of it, and that this recession will not last much longer.

Second, consider the psychology of your customers.  They are depressed.  They are afraid.  They are angry.  They are questioning everything, including their loyalties.  In fact, they are looking for CHANGE.  That is what Barack Obama stood for, and he didn’t do badly, did he?

So, if they seek change, then this is a splendid opportunity for you to grab market share.  If you can bond with the customer right now, that is, if they can truly believe in you and your products, you can be in much better shape come December.  It is time to rethink your company…to implement your ideas…to dominate your market.  As suggested by Oren Harari in his terrific new book, Break from the Pack, “Either you innovate or you’re in commodity hell.  If you do what everybody else does, you have a low-margin business.  That’s not where you want to be.”

How does one accomplish this? I strongly recommend you read Harari’s book.  But here are a few tips from it – not at all what you might expect: 

DO NOT…cut costs…cut prices…improve your current products/services… get bigger…be controlling…ask customers what they want…use legal and political force to protect your business…do anything, as long as you are doing something.  Again – DO NOT do these things!!!

Instead, DO…always evolve (new looks, new presentation, new attitudes, new designs that are all MARKET INSPIRED)…change BEFORE being forced to change by the marketplace…be restless with sameness…monitor trends in the distance to stay ahead of them…reinvent yourself when you are popular, before others can catch up…constantly experiment…invite and challenge your customers to change with you…be deliberately provocative, so your customers have an emotional reaction to your products…stay connected to reality – be ahead enough to keep an edge but not so far ahead that you lose your market share…do everything you do with passion and 100% commitment…always be optimistic, upbeat, and fun loving.  Harari suggests the ‘EMBER Model” –  Does it make us Extraordinary…Does it Matter to customers…Does it Break new ground…does it encourage Evolvement…and is it Real?

His true life examples of businesses that break from the pack: Madonna (as a product); General Electric; Apple; UPS; Whole Foods; and many others.

“Wait a minute,” you are thinking. “I’m not Madonna or General Electric.  I’m just trying to survive.  How is any of this helping me right now?”

Well, first and foremost, it is not costing you a penny to think strategically.  Note that my life is all about marketing, but I haven’t asked you to spend a penny on marketing.  What I am asking you to do is really understand your market.  Make a profile of your customer.  Interview a couple of your customers.  Get a realistic, detailed idea of what they are thinking.  Give a name to your profiled customer; make him (or her) into a person, not a jumble of demographic data.  Name him Ed, after me!

Then go about talking to him or her.  Do not talk about your product.  No one cares about your product except you.  The following example is from another book I highly recommend you read, David Meerman’s The New Rules of Marketing and Public Relations:  In one word, what does Volvo mean to you?  Of course, the answer is SAFETY.  Not a great new design or the engine or computerized steering systems.  That’s interesting to Volvo engineers and designers, but it is not what Volvo customers really care about.  SAFETY – that’s why they buy Volvos. 

You have to know what your customer’s want (not who or what you are) to communicate with them, to get their attention and make sales.  No matter what the economy.

Note that safety is also an emotionally charged issue.  Like Michelin’s baby in a tire, your family’s lives depend upon your car’s safety.  Think of the deep emotional appeals.  If you want to have a price-based sale, then put the sale prices on a link to your web site.  But drive people to your site with emotionally stirring marketing messages.

How to survive and thrive this summer?  Think low-cost Internet.  Think about writing an interesting e-book, or a blog, or if you are B2B (business-to-business) marketer, a forum.  If you don’t have this, create it.  If creating it will take time, comment on other people’s blogs and forums.  Go where your market is going on the Internet and drive customers to your web site.  Then use the site to sell.  And sell emotionally.  Again, talk to your customers, not about yourself or your product.

Remember, many of today’s great companies began during the Great Depression and later recessions. Jump on this opportunity to change people’s minds, buying habits, and brand loyalties!  Invent, innovate, get creative, take advantage of low prices and desperate suppliers and media companies.  Think strategically, get aggressive again, and begin to act on your marketing plan.  This is not just philosophical dribble.  It is real and it is now.  Just do it.

 Ed Sucherman

THE MARKETING MACHINE

www.edsucherman.com

http://www.edsucherman.com/edsblog/

 

 

 

 

Tags: Marketing Strategy, marketing message //