Proven Strategies to Survive Recession

Why Measurable Internet Marketing Makes Sense in a Recession

Written by Rodney Loges, CeM

We are in a recession. The New York State Lottery once had an ad campaign that said, "You've gotta be in it to win it!" The same could be said for Internet marketing during a recession!

So... while you scrub your books and find ways to cut back on spending, think twice before you slash your Internet marketing budget. Empirical data from past recessions support the choice to maintain, and even increase marketing budgets when times get tough. The data supports the value of marketing to survive tough economic times and to position your organization as a leader when the tides turn.

Historical research supports increasing your Internet marketing spending in 2009.

A Timid Approach Leaves You Vulnerable

The Cahners and Strategic Planning Institute produced the report "Media Advertising When Your Market Is in a Recession." While the report states that average businesses do experience a slightly lower rate of return during recessionary times relative to normal times, these businesses tended to gain a greater market share. The underlying reason is that "competitors, especially smaller marginal ones, are less willing or able to defend against the aggressive firms." The study reported businesses that increased media advertising expenditures during the recessionary period "gained an average of 1.5 points of market share."1

Management Review asked American Management Association member firms about spending during the 1990-1991 recession. "The data showed that most firms that raised their marketing budgets enjoyed gains in market share. ... The keys to gaining market share in a recession," concluded Management Review "seem to be spending money and adding to staff. Firms that increased their budgets and took on new people were twice as likely to pick up market share."2

So can a recession truly create opportunities? The smart people at Harvard think so!

Consider an article from the Harvard Business Review entitled, "Advertising as an Anti Recession Tool." In summary, the article explains that a company cannot afford to cut back in advertising just because everybody else is. The article recommends just the opposite. "Rather than wait for business to return to normal, top executives should cash in on the opportunity that the rival companies are creating for them. The company courageous enough to stay in the fight when everyone else is playing safe can bring about a dramatic change in market position." In addition, "advertising budgets should be related to the company's business goals instead of to last year's sales or to next year's promises."3

These findings advocate the importance of marketing and advertising during a recession, but what about Internet marketing specifically?

Measurable Internet Marketing Works

Every aspect of Internet marketing is measurable. That means you can optimize your online marketing to support your overall business goals and track it. Gone are the days when the closest approximation to measuring an effective ad campaign was when you asked an incoming caller, "How did you hear about us?" Internet marketing is transparent.

What search engine led a website visitor to your site? Better yet, what term or set of terms did that visitor type into the search engine to find you? How long did that visitor stay on your homepage and what actions occurred from there? Internet marketing can answer these questions and hundreds more if you pay attention. Better yet, you can use this data to improve your online presence and, ultimately your bottom line.

Where do you start? There is no right answer because every business is different. The best first step is to look at your overall Internet marketing plan to analyze your strengths and weaknesses. True Online Performance Optimization (OPO) means everything matters! Do not limit your focus to flashy site design. Remember the importance of strong page content, calls to action, page load time, key word usage, analytics, and so much more. Are your Internet marketing efforts accessible, interesting, inviting, engaging, and influential? OPO is a step-by-step process that starts with the basic mechanics of your website and ends with an integrated program that sets the standard for your industry. Effective OPO is not an overnight process. It involves incremental steps that advance and improve your existing Web presence over time and tracks it.

Forrester Research, Inc. is a company that provides world-wide business and technological advice based on extensive research for the past 25 years. They recently conducted a survey of 344 interactive marketers and interviews with 25 vendors, media companies, and marketers, including Google, MSN, and Facebook. Forrester forecasts that interactive marketing spend will grow to $61 billion by 2012.4 What will you need to spend to stay competitive?

According to the expert researchers at Forrester, Internet marketing is measurable and targets the decision to buy, rather than just boost brand awareness. They highlight three specific areas of Internet marketing that companies should consider during a recession. "Online display advertising is performance based with immediate results and control of messaging and placement; search pays on clicks, which correspond to prospects doing active research or buying; and e-mail targets existing customers, a group far more likely to listen to your messages in a recession than new prospects. Furthermore, Forrester researchers recommend investing in analytics to determine which of your existing customers are most likely to buy again and then send appropriate messages to those consumers."5

My Three Top Picks to Improve Internet Marketing Efforts Now

First: Do You Use Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising?
If PPC is already part of your marketing mix, there are a number of things you can do to get the most out of your PPC budget. Frederick Vallaeys, the AdWords™ Evangelist for Google, offers some sound advice. Focus your ads on low prices and savings, use value-related keywords, make sure that each ad group focuses on a specific topic or product, use negative keywords to filter out traffic not related to your business, send your prospect directly to the page that describes the product or service in your ad, and focus your money on your high-performers.

Google, Google Advertising Professionals, and Google AdWords are trademarks of Google, Inc.

Want to learn more about starting a PPC campaign but lack the expertise to do so?

Contact a certified PPC expert at NetStrategies

Second: Is Your Website Already Optimized for Search Engine Optimization?
Get the most from a marketing tool you already own. According to Bruce Clay a name synonymous with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), one of the first steps in SEO is to write great content-rich Web pages. That content is driven by knowing your key words and studying successful competitors. Also consider whether your social media efforts, links, and e-mail campaigns drive your leads to a page on your website that solves their problem. The beauty of a successful SEO campaign is that your Internet marketing efforts support your overall business goals and key performance indicators. Through the proper implementation of Web analytics, you can make informed SEO decisions and demonstrate the effectiveness and value of search to all levels of your organization – important in a robust economy, and even more so during a recession.6

Not sure where to start on this complicated and never-ending process of SEO?

Contact the SEO Experts at NetStrategies

Third: Can Your Website Track Those Leads?
Web analytics allow you to better understand your website visitors and how they behave on your site. Once you see how visitors behave on your site, you can use that data to influence their behavior. Don't confuse true analytics with typical Web reporting software that follows superficial results on hits, page views, and sessions. Use an expert to help drive your customers and prospects through to conversion and support your business goals.

Improve your Internet Marketing with better Web Analytics

Achieve Superior Business Performance
Every business, large and small, faces a struggle in today's economic climate. How this recession impacts your market share cannot be left to fate. According to research by professors at Penn State's Smeal College of Business and the University of Texas, "for well-positioned companies experienced in successful marketing, an economic recession should not prompt marketing cutbacks, but rather an aggressive increase in marketing spending to achieve superior business performance both in the short and long term."7

Every challenge is an opportunity. What opportunity awaits you in 2009?

References:

1. Kijewski, Dr. Valerie. "Media Advertising When Your Market Is in a Recession," Cahners Advertising Research Report. The Strategic Planning Institute, 1982
2. Greenburg, Eric Rolfe. "Fortune Follows the Brave," Management Review, January 1993
3. Dhalla, Nairman K. "Advertising as an anti recession tool," Harvard Business Review, Jan.-Feb. 1980
4. Bernoff, Josh. "Strategies For Interactive Marketing In A Recession: Unlike Last Time, Results-Based Marketing And Social Applications Could Thrive," Foresster, Inc. February 6, 2008.
5. Payer, Erin. IMPAQT White Paper: "Gaining Market Share during a 'Recession' Using Search Marketing," 2008.
6. Srinivasan, Raji and Lilien, Gary and Rangaswamy, Arvind. "Turning Adversity Into Advantage: Does Proactive Marketing During a Recession Pay Off?" International Journal for Research in Marketing," University of Texas and Smeal. 2005.
7. US Interactive Marketing Forecast, Forrester Research, Oct. 2007, Shar VanBoskirk.