The UK is in one of the longest recessions in history with 6% of economic output lost. Despite quantitative easing banks still are not lending to smaller businesses. An estimate of nearly 30,000 businesses closed in 2009 and we are still not out of the woods yet. As a business, if you have made it this far, that is great news. You may have seen some of your competitors fail, lessening the competition in the market. This means even though the market share may be less, you have a bigger slice of it. In the end it will be the strong companies that will survive. The ones that are easy to adapt to a crisis and probably will be strong for years to come.
In such economic conditions it becomes even more crucial that you market your company effectively. Great marketing is effective marketing and even more so in such markets. Lessen the budget, identify the strategies that are the most effective and stick with them. All the same, whatever you do, don't cut the budget altogether. That of course would be a big mistake. If you are not getting new business, you cannot grow. Your existing customers will begin to drop off; your customer base will begin to diminish. It might be crucial in this market to check your marketing budget but cutting it altogether is obviously a very bad idea.
What all this boils down to is making sure that your marketing has a lot more punch and is well targeted. All of the budget must be spent on reaching the right market in the right fashion. Your marketing campaign must be engaging. It should capture the imagination of your target audience and make them sit up and notice your brand. You need to give your customers a reason why they should go to you and not your competitors. Your campaign must have an impact and to do so it must last for a while. Things like spending your entire budget on a single 30 second commercial must be avoided.
This may sound like a tall order from any marketing strategy but I am about to reveal the one method that contains all of these aspects. This method is adopted by almost all the most successful companies in the world and now the internet has become so widely used this method is now even easier to deploy for your company. The answer lies in promotional merchandise.
Promotional merchandise is when a product branded with your logo and possibly company details is given to your target audience. There are thousands of different products to choose from and you should choose the ones that reflect your brand or the target audience. Every one loves a freebie and this method of advertising can be surprisingly effective. You get to choose exactly who you want to give the merchandise to and these people take your products home or to their offices - right where other customers probably are! Promotional merchandise does not have to be expensive. There are products on the market from 8p. Do you know of any advertising method that starts out so cheap and is still this effective?
This is not only a good strategy for customer acquisition but is a great method of retaining and rewarding your existing client base. Corporate gifts not only reinforce your brand, but keep them within your clients view all the time. This boosts customer loyalty and greatly increases the life time value of your customer for your business.
Liz Logan is the managing director of Phoenix Corporate Gifts. You can read more about her writing at promotional merchandise and don't forget to check out the Corporate clothing.
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