As we rapidly approach March of 2009, what have you done to stay ahead of the recession? How are you shifting your focus, marketing strategies and messaging to adapt to the new state of mind of your customers?

We’re offering up some basic tips on how to market smarter online and in-house:

• Fix the weaknesses. Invest time internally to understanding your weaknesses. Most of the time, when business is good we are too busy to fix those thorns in our sides that often reduce productivity, efficiency and creativity. A great place to start is your Web site. Review Web site statistics to see how people are getting to your site and review your conversion (sales) process online to see if it can be improved with regard to ease-of-use for the user. Understand your Web site’s visibility online, could you be getting streamlining your online efforts to get more targeted traffic and less riffraff?
• Become great at what you are now good at. Don’t change who you are, don’t try to be everything to everyone but focus on your specialty. We always jump at the chance to work with business that have a niche. Niche businesses thrive online because the Internet is the quickest and best way to find a specialty service or unique product. Folks looking for these niche products or services are more likely to engage with you, thus making it more likely to convert them into a sale or customer. The right mix of online marketing strategies coupled with a good online user experience creates a recipe for success.
• Find a way to change your messaging that still coincides with your brand without jeopardizing what you stand for AND find a way to change your messaging that demonstrates to clients the value of your product or service. A niche client of ours was toiling with the idea of adding a less expensive line to her product offering to accommodate for the down economy. Until now she only focused on offering boutique high-end products. In the end she decided this was not best for her company because this was not representative of her brand. She found a way to reach consumers by changing her messaging and providing reasons for why consumers should purchase this type of quality product in a down economy. Sales have continued to increase since November 2008.
• Work with smaller companies who specialize in specific areas like online marketing, specifically PPC management strategies. You’ll find that often times you will get better service, better results, and overall more value from your investment. Understand, especially with PPC management, that this is a “managed media” and not “placed media.” If you are spending less than $100k/month on PPC and your Internet Marketing agency or current service provider is taking a percentage of ad spend then consider that your first red flag. With smaller specialized Internet marketing companies you have a better chance of stretching your dollar and spending less to get more.
• Focus on relationship marketing. First focus on how much you know about your current and past customers. What are their needs and preferences? How can you adjust your product or service to meet their needs now? If you are suffering from a loss of staff, look to initiatives like email marketing, trigger emails and personalized (yet automated) customer service strategies to make a one-to-one connection with your customers. Invest in reviewing your site statistics to gain a basic understanding of what is and isn’t working so that you can make adjustments that will capture the right customer.
• Be innovative. “Why did so many great companies and products come from the Great Depression? While there’s no question that a bad economy makes it tougher to raise capital and launch new products, the reality is that good ideas executed well always have room to succeed. A different way to look at it, a shrinking wallet means that more attention is given to every purchase, and therefore the best customer value equation have a better chance of success during a downturn.” – Idris Mootee, FutureLab Read the post by FutureLab here.

A recent article in The Phoenix Business Journal said,
“One marketing sector that seems to be thriving is the Internet [in a down economy], as more companies realize the Web is the way of the future for communicating with customers and potential customers…Internet-based marketing and advertising often is a far cheaper way to generate new and repeat business than conventional advertising..” Read the full article.

While some small part of me has a bit of angst that a down economy (or recession) is what is causing more companies to move marketing dollars online, I also find this revelation among companies as a shining star in my future and in theirs. As a passionate Internet Marketer I have always thoroughly believed in the power of online marketing – if the strategy, management, and execution are all done well.

We have been fortunate to add new business and continue to grow our small yet powerful Internet Marketing company. In Q4 and into the first month of 2009 we have noticed several significant trends in the ways companies are doing business and shifting their marketing strategies which has made us successful in garnering new business.

Over the past six months we have seen the following:

• Companies are scrutinizing their budgets and their service providers. No surprise on the budget part, but the scrutinizing of service providers is. Companies are realizing that their service providers, with regard to online marketing, are saying they do it all but are falling short of providing results let alone showing any type of progress. They are realizing that online cannot be treated as traditional marketing – there are more mediums and channels to market online and each must be handled differently so it is important to have a service provider that understands the strengths and weaknesses of these disciplines.
• Many medium to large sized businesses are looking to smaller firms who specialize in online marketing, such as PPC strategy and management, SEO, and online media planning even email marketing strategies to focus on relationship marketing. Often times you’ll receive more intimate customer service and find that smaller specialty agencies provide better value and have a deeper understanding of your business resulting in a partnership and extension of your company versus “you are the client, we are the agency” mentality.
• Companies are realizing that Internet is playing a more significant role in their business and are taking more time to educate themselves on these tactics, whereas before companies would trust non-specialty agencies to run their online campaigns with no regard for measurement.
• Companies are making changes to their messaging that appeals to consumers needs today,, in a down economy versus delivering the same messaging and throwing more advertising dollars towards it. The right Internet Marketing firm can help uncover new trends with regard to keywords, visitor trends in searches, and behavior that will help guide this new messaging.

If you’re looking to get started or make a shift in online marketing service providers my first word of advice would be to outline your goals and objectives, know your budget, then understand what type of service provider you are looking for. Pick up the phone and contact a few local Phoenix internet marketing companies and start an initial conversation about your challenges, your objectives, and what you are looking to achieve.