Recession Marketing Tips

1. Blog where your clients are.

Find Websites and blogs that offer content and resources your clients need to keep informed. Where do they get their critical information? If you don’t know where your clients get their business information ask them. That’s another way to reach out and build a relationship with your audience.

2. Wish you were here.

Plan an inexpensive campaign with postcards that have targeted messages to reach your clients and prospects. First class postcards can be delivered in an unusual, larger size, such as 11.5 x 6, and attract more attention yet cost a lot less than mailing a brochure or catalog. The mailing cost is the same for a standard envelope, so you get more mileage out of your postage budget. You may provide Website links for more info. Your main objective is to create awareness of your campaign. People are more likely to see a postcard, even if they throw it away. E-mail messages are faster and less expensive yet they are also just as easily dismissed as spam.

3. Leave an impression.

Use the “signature” function on your e-mail and on your smart phones. Always include your name and contact information and you can include a message or marketing line. Everything is a billboard for your company. Frequently people don’t use the built-in tools in e-mail browsers and smart phones to deliver basic contact info. One of our clients changed the standard message “Sent from my iPhone” to “Inspiration from my iPhone.” You’d be surprised how a subtle change can become noticeable.

4. Rock/Paper/Scissors marketing.

To get the most bang out of your marketing buck you should deliver your messaging in 3 modes:
•Rock (something physical: a sign, banner, display)
•Paper (something printed: a flyer, brochure, report)
•Scissors (something cutting-edge: animation, HTML e-mail, interactive game or iPhone app)
Just when you are getting tired of your campaign, your audience is probably beginning to notice it; when you are sick of it your audience may be starting to respond, and when you can’t bear to look at it again you may be reaching penetration. It takes time and multiple exposures to capture the attention of your clients and prospects in our media-saturated world.
Click Here to see more on Rock/Paper/Scissors marketing.


5. Use Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to actually say something.

Social networking announcements can be all about navel-staring, but they don’t have to be. You may use these electronic “billboards” to announce something interesting and unique. I recently posted on Facebook:
“David can’t believe over 35,000 people have visited www.masterpieceyourself.com. Have you?” Use the challenge of communicating within 160 characters to develop succinct messages that promote your services in a unique way.


David Langton is a principal at Langton Cherubino Group, a branding and interactive design agency in New York.