What Goes Down Must Come Up

How to successfully market your small business in a down economy.

By Dan Antonelli / President & Creative Director, NJ Advertising Agency Graphic D-Signs, Inc.  

“Successful companies do not abandon their marketing strategies in a recession. They adapt them.”
John Quelch, Harvard Business School

So, like everyone else in the world (except for hedge fund managers and NBA stars) you’re feeling the effects of the sluggish economy. And like everybody else, you’re making cutbacks. Conventional wisdom says the first thing people slash in down times is their marketing. But conventional thinking doesn’t build too many lasting businesses.

The truth is, small businesses need to marketing themselves MORE in a down economy, because it’s an opportunity to introduce your brand to a whole new audience—while all the conventional guys are cutting back.

If you want to reach more customers in a down economy, here are a few great cost-effective ideas marketing ideas:

• Update your website. Quick quiz: When was the last time you upgraded your company’s website? Was The Sopranos still on? If so, it’s time for a revamp. This goes double if you don’t have a mobile-friendly site (link to Going Mobile page). Here at Graphic D-Signs, we can hook you up with the coolest site around. Just check out some of our latest looks for proof (link to gallrey). 
• Search Engine Optimization. It might not be all that glamorous, but ensuring that it’s easy for customers to find your site on search engines is one of the smartest things you can do. At this point, even great-grandmothers know how to google. Talk to us about an SEO plan today. 
• Social, social, social. Alright, we admit it. Saying “Social Media is a great marketing tool” is sort of old news. But so are ice cream cones. And they sell like mad. If you get confused by all the Likes and Tweets and Check-ins, don’t worry. We’re super geeks with that kind of stuff. And it works. 
• Vehicle Wraps. This is a no-brainer. Got a van? Then you’ve got a billboard. Better yet, a billboard with wheels. Graphic D-Signs has one of the best vehicle wrap design teams in the country. We’ll make sure you get noticed every time you hit the road. It’s one of the most cost-effective ways to get your name out. After all, you’re going to be driving anyway, right? Might as well score some new customers while you’re at it.

Marketing Strategy from Ad Salespeople?

Recently, a new client of ours asked us to build a new web site and sales brochures for their New Jersey-based service business. We discussed their budget for the project and, as we normally do, inquired about their other supplemental advertising expenditures.

It's really our job to look at what a client is spending on their advertising, especially as it relates to a percentage of their yearly total revenue. When we analyzed their advertising budget, it was clear that they needed help. Nearly 90% of their total budget was being directed towards the various yellow page books. Worse, was the fact that the ratio of sales to advertising was way out of line. The percentage we normally like to see our small business clients is no more than 5% of total revenue going towards their advertising and market budget line.

So what happened to this client? How did he get in over his head with his budget on yellow pages (which unfortunately, have you locked in 12 months at a time).

In a nutshell, he took all his marketing advice from an ad salesman instead of an marketing professional. His business was slow, or experiencing a slowdown - so, the yellow page sales rep says 'Well, then you need a bigger ad'. And so the client put more money into a medium that less and less people actually bother to use - especially in their particular sector. Had we been consulted prior to committing these funds we would have devised some different, less costly - yet more effective means to promote and market their services.

As an agency, our goal is to have you spend the least amount of money on your marketing and advertising - with the maximum amount of return. Had this client consulted with us prior, we would have saved them literally tens of thousands of dollars. And got them better results from other mediums.

I'm happy to report that our client's business is slowly coming around - their new web site and brochures are really working well - but they are still saddled with these huge payments to the phone book companies. Until they get out of these agreements, their business will remain somewhat hampered.

Bottom line - be careful who you take marketing advice from.