This document provides strategies and recommendations for marketing in a down economy. It discusses maintaining or increasing advertising budgets during recessions as studies show this leads to higher sales growth. It also discusses shifting consumer behaviors in recessions to focus more on value and rational benefits. The document recommends focusing on digital marketing strategies like search marketing, social media, email marketing and mobile marketing which consumers are increasing spending on. It provides checklists to audit websites, email programs, social media presence, SEO/SEM efforts and consider mobile marketing. It also lists free online marketing tools that can be leveraged when budgets are limited.

1. Marketing in a
Down Economy
Elizabeth L. Scott
Raven New Media & Marketing
RAVEN
New Media
& Marketing

2. Today’s Agenda
 A historical perspective
 Strong brand = consumer confidence
 What can I do and can I afford it?
 Using digital in a down economy

3. “You don’t ever want a crisis
to go to waste; it’s an opportunity to
do important things that you would
otherwise avoid.”
- Rahm Emmanuel
Former White House Chief of Staff

4. Should You Advertise in a Down Market?
 1981-1982 Recession
 Companies that maintained or increased their ad expenditures averaged
significantly higher sales growth during that time and grew 256% for two years
after
 1989-1991 Recession
 Companies that increased ad expenditures experienced growth from 15-70%
 Companies that cut back on advertising during that time had a drop in sales
from 26-64%*
*McGraw-Hill’s Research of 600 companies between 1981-82 and 1989-91

5. How Does a Recession Effect
Consumer Behavior?
 Decrease in overall spending
 80-90% willing to trade off or trade down
 May not return to previous spending habits
 Change in lifestyle and how they spend their time
 Staying home
 Focus on home and family
 Focus on products and services that provide a “rational benefit”
 Running shoes? Yes
 Jimmy Choo’s? No
 Consumers, manufacturers & retailers in a “no frills” mood
 Emphasize value (quality divided by price) and how those savings
will benefit them and their family

6.  Increased spending only likely to be in:
 Online
 Mobile
 In-home entertainment sectors
 Consumers want reassurances about their spending in bad economic
times
 Anxious about keeping job, paying the mortgage, college tuition, etc.
 I’m making the right decision with the money I have
 Consistency and authenticity are critical
Recession Spending

7. Success Stories
 Every Day Low Prices launched in 2000-2001
 Positioned as more than just low prices, but making contributions to consumers
lives
 Consumers staying at home more
 Brand promise = “you can have a superior cooking experience and you can
share this with your friends in a superior way”

8. 5 Reasons to Stay the Course

9. Reasons to Stay the Course
1. Today’s consumer has to be motivated to action. Replace
consumer anxiety with empowerment.
2. Go after or protect market share. It’s less expensive than
trying to rebuild it later and studies show it leads to long-term
profitability.
3. Increase share of voice and top-of-mind awareness. Less
aggressive advertisers leave the door open to consumer brand
switching.

10. Reasons to Stay the Course
4. Great media values are out there. Advertising is still a viable
and important communications vehicle. Purchase
“opportunistically” but don’t sacrifice frequency.
5. The economy will improve. Staying engaged with your
consumers during the recession enables you to optimize
performance now and to accelerate into the recovery.

11. Strategies for Thriving in a
Down Economy

12. Strategies for Thriving
in a Down Economy
 Focus on the Future
 Since 1854 there have been 28 recessions
 Average recession has lasted 10 months
 Position your product or service as bringing value to the consumer (don’t focus
on the “bad times”)
In other words, the economy WILL recover

13. Strategies for Thriving
in a Down Economy
 A strategic marketing plan is vital
 Don't waste money communicating the wrong “message” in the wrong
place to the “wrong” audience
 Good time to review plans for continued relevance in current market
 “Stick to your knitting”
 This is not the time to stray from your known brand
 But, do evaluate your brand identity and how relevant it is to your
consumers in this market
 Consumer research essential
 Reinforce the positives, change the negatives

14. Strategies for Thriving
in a Down Economy
 Maintain your advertising budget
 If possible, increase it (just don’t tell your CFO) and let the
competition cut theirs
 Increased ad spending = increased share of voice
 Re-evaluate your media/dayparts/insertions mix
 Changing a TV daypart can save you as much as 19% while only reducing
your reach by about 9%
 Increase time between flights/insertions
 Eliminate weeks of media
 Don’t sacrifice strategy and message
 If you can’t run a full schedule, don’t water down your message

15. Strategies for Thriving
in a Down Economy
 Maintain continuity to sustain awareness
 Consumers depend on brands they trust
 Advertising works cumulatively, so we have to remind people frequently
about our brand or they'll forget us
 A strong brand is the best defense against a difficult economy
 PR and non-paid media
 Op-eds and pitched stories are more valuable
 Newspapers are not ‘dead’, but their readership and how consumers access
the product is shifting

16. We’re All in This Together
 Recommit to customer excellence
 Internalize your brand: your brand reputation depends on it
 If you don’t already have a service excellence program, start one!
 Remember your employees
 They are also feeling the economic pinch
 Work with HR to help them get through the hard times
 This isn’t 100% altruistic – your employees are your best brand ambassadors

17. Think Digital in a Down Economy
Allow digital communications and
marketing to do the heavy lifting. If you
aren’t already using digital for
marketing, start now!

18. Digital Spending Trends

19. The Budget Rollercoaster
http://www.6smarketing.com/infographic-digital-marketing-budget-trends-for-2012/
41% plan to
reduce print
spending64% plan to
increase
budget for
SEO
70% plan to
increase
investment in
social media
(including blogs
and product
reviews on their
site)

20. Budgets May Not Be Growing
But They Are Shifting
http://www.6smarketing.com/infographic-digital-marketing-budget-trends-for-2012/
28% are moving
some budget to
digital channels

21. Low/Moderate Investments = High Leads
http://www.6smarketing.com/infographic-digital-marketing-budget-trends-for-2012/
Social media is
making big gains
as a lead
generator
Search investments (SEO and
SEM (PPC)) create strong
business leads
% of digital budgets

22. Digital Priorities Pyramid
Site Refinement, Analytics &
Search Marketing (SEO & PPC)
Online Display Advertising &
Affiliate Partners
Email Marketing
Social Media
Mobile &
Video
Marketing
In 2013, U.S.
companies will
spend 21% or
more of their
marketing
budgets on
digital
Source: Forrester’s Interactive Models Research: Forecast for U.S. Interactive Marketing Spend
60%
30%
5%
3%
2%

23. Tackling the Top 4 Digital
Concerns of Marketers

24. The Top 4 Digital Concerns
During a Down Economy
• I have a modest marketing budget or my
marketing budget is maxed.Budget
• I have already allocated 90% of my budget. I
am afraid to move dollars from traditional
marketing to digital.
Monetary
Allocation
• I don’t know where to start with digital.
There are so many options.
Media &
Medium
• I don’t have additional resources to take on
new marketing efforts.Resources

25. •Use free online marketing tools when possible. Your
investment is equal to the time it takes to set them up.Budget
•Reallocate 15 -25% to digital. Pull funds from low return
investments and move them to 1 – 3 digital efforts.
Monetary
Allocation
•Do your homework. Search what’s working in businesses like
yours. Not every digital option will be a good fit . Seek
guidance from digital marketing experts.
Media &
Medium
•Devote approximately10-15 minutes of your time each
business day to digital. It doesn’t have to be daily, but
expect to spend one hour+ per week on digital. Hire an
intern and pay him/her to help you run your digital program.
Resources

26. Write It Down & Stick to the Plan

27. Serious Times Call for
a Serious Strategy
Justification
Integration
Campaign/Execution
Budget
Education
Resources
Measurement

28. What Are Your Goals?
What Are Your Digital Options?
Acquire Convert Retain & Grow
Measure &
Optimize
Search Engine Marketing Usability & Accessibility E-mail Marketing Web Analytics
E-Mail Marketing Customer Decision Support Loyalty Programs Site Performance Monitoring
Affiliate Marketing
3rd Party
Certification/Accreditation
Personalization Competitor Benchmarking
Aggregators Shopping Copywriting, Content Referrals Online Panels
Comparison Interactive Functionality & Presentation Customer Service Online Surveys
Advertising Partnerships Promotions & Merchandising Choice & Convenience Usability
Co-Registration Personalization & Targeting Dynamic Pricing
Viral Marketing E-mail Marketing Community
PPC Payment Options
Content Distribution/RSS Onsite Search
Online PR
www.boldendeavours.com/191/

29. Digital Checklists for
a Down Economy

30. Website: Your Marketing
Front Line
Checklist:
 Have I had my website independently audited in
the last 12 months
 Is my website professional and modern?
 Have I compared my site to my competitors’
sites?
 Can consumers easily reach me via phone, email,
inquiry form, and physical address
 Am I immediately responsive to all inquires?
 Am I building my prospective and existing
customer databases and collecting valuable
information about them?
 Am I talking about myself and my company on my
site or am I talking about what I can do for my
consumer?
 Is it hard to navigate?
 Is there too much text?
 Have I tested usability on my website?
 Is my website showing up in keyword searches?
 Is everything working properly on my site
 Have I gotten rid of Flash elements?
 Do I know how my site looks on a variety of
mobile phones?
 Do I have strong customer testimonials
 Have I included location-based apps or links to
location-based apps for easy downloading for my
consumers?
 Is my site listed correctly on all of free business
listing sites? You may be listed and do not know
it.
 Are the images helping or hurting my brand?

31. Emails and Eblasts: A Must
Checklist:
 Do I really know what I need to know to be effective
with my emails?
 Am I using a reliable and easy ESP (email service
provider, i.e. iContact, Constant Contact)?
 Is my email database clean
 Am I collecting consumer preferences?
 Am I following all SPAM and best practice email
guidelines?
 Am I correcting incorrect emails and reducing my
bounce rate?
 Am I faithfully removing anyone who does not want
to receive my emails from my mailing lists?
 Am I providing web page and text backups for all of
my emails?
 Do I have a strong CTA (call to action)? Have I given
them a reason to click?
 Is my email compelling?
 Have I included all of my contact information in a
text format?
 Have I encouraged my email recipients to pass along
the message or discount?
 Have I included my social media resources?
 Am I rewarding good customers with coupons,
discounts or special offers?
 Does the imagery enhance the message or just make
it look pretty?
 Am I tracking my email campaigns?
 Do I know the best days, time of day and frequencies
to reach my audiences?
 Have I purchased a list?
 Do I have a mechanism to collect new emails
addresses and contact information to expand my
business’ database?
 Have I started collecting mobile phone numbers for
future texting campaigns?
 Have I built out an editorial schedule for my emails
for the next 6 months?
 Am I tracking my email campaigns and are my
campaigns improving upon each refinement?

32. Social Media: You Need It But…
Checklist:
 Have I given serious thought to my primary social media channel?
 Do I know what my competitors are doing?
 Do I have a formal LinkedIn profile? (Particularly important for B to B)
 Have I had my social media presence audited for value?
 Have I claimed my brand on all major channels?
 Have I educated myself and my team on how to use social media for business?
 Is my presence representing my brand to it’s fullest potential
 Am I aware and using new marketing tools available to me?
 Do I really understand what businesses do well advertising in these mediums and what do not?
 Have I built a social media strategy around my brand, products, services, seasonal advantages, pass along strategies,
engaging my fan base, messaging voice and appropriate use of imagery?
 Have I received and acknowledged feedback from followers?
 Am I responsive?
 Am I tracking my social media placements, my competitors and my viral influence correctly?
 Are my fans engaged and participating in discussions?
 Is my page professional and well-designed
 Do I offer my fans special offers and discounts?
 Do I have compelling content? (Worth asking again… Do I REALLY have compelling content?)
 Is social media part of my public relations strategy?

33. SEO & SEM: Can They Find You?
Checklist:
 Do I know all of my critical keywords and key phrases?
 Has my site been audited for SEO effectiveness?
 Do I show up on page one of my keyword/key phrase search?
 Do I use a regional strategy for my SEM? (If relevant)
 Are strong sites linking to mine?
 Do I encourage social media followers to visit my site?
 Do I track SEO and SEM via analytics?
 Have I done my homework? Do my team and I understand the fundamentals of SEO?
 If my search engine ranking is low, am I engaging SEM with a reputable specialist?
 Is my search marketing company making recommendations to improve my ranking and monitoring my SEM buys
24/7?
 Am I prepared to commit to a 12+ month engagement in SEM?
 Do I have a way to track leads from search engines and keyword searches?
 Is the abstract that surfaces based on a keyword/phrase search strong, clear and compelling?
 Have I made a compelling offer in my abstract?
 Am I taking search users to the correct pages on my site?
 Am I giving search users an easy but actionable and clickable result? Am I properly collecting searcher
information when they land on my site?

34. Mobile Marketing: Yes, If…
Checklist:
 Have I done my homework on the success rates of the online mobile marketing providers that I plan to
use? (Trumpia, etc.)
 Does my consumer have a smartphone texting profile? Do they message frequently
 Are my competitors doing well with mobile?
 Does my online mobile marketing provider have strong ROI case studies? Are participants gaining
revenue?
 Is my offer good enough to bring new consumers to my business? Is it as good or better than
competitors?
 Am I able to collect and reuse consumer email addresses and mobile numbers so that I can send out
offers directly?
 Have I prepared for business surges and planned accordingly?
 Do I have a follow up plan for participants who click through?
 Am I promoting my mobile campaign via my traditional and online marketing channels? Is this an
opportunity for QR codes
 Am I tracking my spend to revenue ratio from the promotion?
 Do I have the right message and contact information with my incentive or coupon so that redemption is
easy and trackable?
 Am I staying local and building in local relevance
 Have I reviewed my mobile display ads on a variety of smartphones?

35. Free Resources

36. 23 Free Online Marketing Tools
That You Should Have
 www.goodkeywords.com/products/
 www.google.com/alerts
 www.onlywire.com/
 www.picresize.com/
 www.smartftp.com/
 www.copyscape.com/
 www.google.com/analytics
 www.gigasize.com/
 www.alexa.com/
 www.analyticscheckup.com/
 www.cotweet.com
 www.quora.com
• tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/
• www.seochat.com/
• Blogger.com/
• www.google.com/trends
• marketing.grader.com/
• tweet.grader.com/
• ready.bluestatedigital.com/
• go.icontact.com/
• www.scribit.com/
• www.issuu.com
• www.socialmention.com

37. Thank You!
37
Elizabeth L. Scott
CEO & Founder
Raven New Media & Marketing
elizabethlscott@yahoo.com
RavenNewMedia.com
RAVEN
New Media
& Marketing