Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
Kevin Ehlinger,
ThinkCreative Advertising:
320.259.9400
cr******@************ve.com
www.ithinkcreative.com
WE’VE ALL HEARD the news reports. Our country, and perhaps much of the world, appears to be heading toward an economic recession. Some analysts suggest we’re already in one.
Whatever the facts, the fear of recession is as harmful as the event itself. Uncertainty about the future creates a strong reflex among consumers to pull back, to spend less, to safeguard what they have.
For those of us in business, an economic downturn creates the same uncertainty about the future, the same tendency to hunker down and weather the storm. Unfortunately, a defensive posture can leave you far behind the competition when the storm passes. To emerge stronger it is essential to rethink your marketing strategy.
A clear market strategy consists of creativity, courage, common sense and a close analysis of the facts on the ground. Put them all together, and you have a formula for success.
In our line of work, we often talk about brains over budget. For any business, creative intelligence equals profit, because effective ideas produce greater results for less.
Billboard campaigns can effectively target the audiences of some businesses. However, for the cost of a three-month billboard placement, you can add full color graphics to your vehicles and turn them into traveling billboards that can last for up to 10 years. Now that’s smart.
Are you allocating your marketing dollars for the best possible outcome? If possible, enlist the help of a marketing expert. Just a few hours of professional input can save you thousands in wasted or inefficient advertising.
There’s an old saying: New friends are silver, old friends are gold. The same can be said of your clients. So many companies focus on obtaining new customers; they pay little attention to those whose loyalty and trust have already been gained.
Referral or word-of-mouth advertising is appreciated by all, but few businesses take advantage of this low-cost marketing strategy. It is said that 80 percent of companies get 70 percent of their business through referrals.
A well-crafted referral program should offer worthwhile incentives to those who participate, with the knowledge that your investment is a fraction of what these new customers will contribute to your business.
Your current and former clients need to be reminded how much they are valued. Like old friends, they will respond. Begin today. It’s proven to be the best return on your investment.
The pie may be shrinking, but you can increase the size of your piece by improving the overall experience customers have doing business with you.
Every contact you have with a company creates an experience. Whether they continue to do business with you or tell their friends depends on how great that experience was. Conduct internal focus groups to determine every customer touch point, then brainstorm ideas on how to make those contacts a “wow” experience.
According to Jack Morton Worldwide, 75 percent of marketers from the United States, Europe and China will spend more on experiential marketing in 2008. Live marketing events at malls, trade shows, or even outside your own storefront can give consumers a first-hand experience of your product or service.
Free hand massages to promote hand lotion, wind tunnel walks to test hair gel, free karaoke vocal auditions in the back of new Jeep TJs – major companies have used these events to create a buzz among the public.
Experiential marketing doesn’t have to cost a lot and the new thinking can energize your business, making it highly visible above its competitors.
An economic downturn does not affect the market equally. Some segments slow down, some are untouched, while others actually grow. A focused market analysis can place you ahead of the game. One suggestion is to rethink how you define the business you are in.
Harley Davidson doesn’t consider itself to be a motorcycle manufacturer. They are a lifestyle company. That new thinking allows them to broaden their brand into other markets.
A commercial fire product manufacturer redefined its business as being a commercial fire protection company. By so doing, they now have expanded their market beyond a single product into a catalog of inventory.
Innovative marketing is fresh and inventive, drawing upon all the advances of modern technology such as the Internet. Innovative marketing can target specific market sectors with cost-efficient accuracy.
Direct mail campaigns blanket large swaths of the market in the hope of generating a positive response rate of about 3 percent. By contrast, targeted “dimensional” mailings such as food or novelty items are often much more cost-effective, with instant recognition upon follow-up calls and a positive response rate of up to 50 percent.
As our economy slows, innovative marketing will play a much larger role for companies looking to achieve the highest return on their advertising dollars. Innovative marketing is building a track record of success that continues to revolutionize market planning.
Effective marketing in an economic slowdown is not just good business. It communicates a confidence and savvy that will make the public and your competitors sit up and take notice.
