It is no secret that companies are looking to cut budgets this year to offset the effect of the slow economy. However, is this sending the right message out? Gregory Will of PricewaterhouseCoopers says,
“One lesson from the survivors of the downturn of the early 1990s is not to slash marketing and advertising or research and development. Customers will always look for confident companies. If regular advertising or marketing stops suddenly, companies lose sales by not being front of mind and they undermine confidence. Advertising signals to the market that all is going well and there will be no issues.”
The best option for marketers going forward is to ensure that each dollar of ad spend is being used to effectively start a conversation with their most valuable consumers. Word-of-mouth could be the best promotional strategy in a time where consumers, wary of new products or services, are tightening purse strings.
A 2009 Reardon Smith Whittaker Agency Report showed that of 246 advertising agency executives, only 20% considered traditional media (TV, Print ads, Banners etc.) to be a good marketing choice going forward. 80% of the executives were interested in web, viral, mobile, SEO and Word-of-mouth for 2009. These are channels most frequented by today’s consumers, yet are highly underestimated for effectiveness in reach. Marketers need to keep up with their consumers in order to maintain their brand image – and the best way to do so is to give some control to their consumers over where the brand should go. However, marketing executives must realize that these advertising avenues are not ones that can be ‘bought’ – most often, they must be user-generated.
A tribal approach can generate buzz with little additional marketing spend in every one of the 5 areas outlined above. In addition, it ensures that a conversation between you and your consumers are taking place, and can help you gain valuable feedback to work with.
Are you reaching your tribe?
