Yes, Virginia, people are still reading newspapers.

It seems that setting aside a portion of your advertising budget for newspapers isn’t such a bad idea after all. The question every marketer should ask is how can I measure the return on my investment?

Reports of the death of print newspapers may be premature, suggests Scarborough Research. While print newspaper readership is indeed declining slowly, nearly three in four U.S. adults still read printed news on a weekly basis. Printed newspapers appear to be holding onto their audiences well in an era of fragmented media choices, Scarborough says.

Source: The Nielsen Company

Can you sell what you wouldn’t buy?

You are a savvy shopper, right?. You think before you buy and so does your customer. He’s looking for the same things you are… value, features, performance, benefits. Oh, yeah… and style, color, newness, hipness, whatever.

Take a quick look at your marketing strategy. Look at your products, your message, your results. Would you buy your product from your company? If not, why would anybody else?

Ask your key people how they would answer these questions. Get their honest answers and empower them to suggest necessary changes. Be ready to change your marketing plan as often as you have to so savvy shoppers will buy from you.

Questions about advertising in a down economy.

I work with people who run companies. As a coach, I don’t try to convince them of anything. I make sure they have the information and resources they need to make the right decisions for themselves. Mostly, I ask questions…

• If you slash your marketing budget, how will your customers know that you are alive and well and ready to do business?
• Your customers are cutting orders. What is the most cost-effective thing you can do to find new customers?
• Your competitors have slashed their marketing budgets. Is this a good time to take away their share of the market?

“Advertising” or “marketing communications” can include a wide range of tools and techniques. Every company has to choose the right mix for their audience… print ads, snail mail, email, blog posts, webcasts, trade shows, sky writing, whatever.

If your industry is off 20% in this recession, that means somebody is getting the 80% that’s left. The important thing is to stay as active and visible as you can. Maybe the most important question is…

• If you decide to compete aggressively, what else can you cut besides marketing?

A good marketing budget includes come combination of brand building, lead generation, direct sales and customer support. Lead generation and direct sales are the easiest to measure, customer support often delivers the greatest ROI.

I would ask…

• What is your current marketing mix and how should it change in response to current conditions?

Of course, this question should be asked routinely in good times or bad.

Standing out in a crowd. What crowd?

One of the biggest problems for any marketer is getting people’s attention. OK, great products, customer-focused messages, enticing offers and amazing customer service aren’t easy. But once you have all those other things, you have to do is get noticed.

Yesterday, I was reading Seth Godin’s blog. Seth knows how to get noticed, but that’s not my point… at least not entirely. He was describing his alternative MBA program. In his words, “Unaccredited, residential, free and six months long. A new way to learn about a new way of doing business.”

Most of the nine “graduates” left the program ready to start or grow their entrepreneurial companies. One, was determined to land the best job ever. What makes Susan Lewis different is her approach. She isn’t submitting hundreds of résumés (crowd), she’s inviting potential employers to apply to her (what crowd?).

Marketers, know thy market.

Many of the nation’s youth and a few of their elders are expecting a magical turnaround of America’s economic fortunes as soon as their candidate for President, Barack Obama, is sworn in on January 20th 2009. But the Millennial Generation, born between 1982 and 2003, may be more the source of the country’s economic salvation as any initiative the new President might propose.

via
Can Millennials Turn around the Housing Bust? | Newgeography.com .