Online Marketing For A Recession

Participation on social networking sites will be executed by 94% of businesses in the coming year. “Despite risks associated with participating in online communities, the internal costs of community formation and management and the fact that we are in the midst of a profound recession, organizations’ continued and enhanced investment in online communities underscores the perceived potential for the value that they may provide to the enterprise,” says Ed Moran, director of product innovation at Deloitte Services LP. “Social media and communities are expected to continue to play a significant role in the way in which companies are interacting with employees, customers, partners and the larger business ecosystem, thereby redefining the very edge of the corporation.” Social media is just one area of online marketing to consider, but it’s certainly one of the fastest growing sections.

Sometimes looking at the strategies of others is a good place to begin thinking about online marketing. According to a recent survey, “Tough Times Call for Tough Measures,” conducted by the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit (eMOS), 84% of respondents planned to increase or maintain their spending on email; 77% will increase or maintain online advertisements; 76% will increase or maintain keyword search campaigns; 62% will increase or maintain their social networks campaigns; and 38% will increase or maintain video advertising budgets. The basic point is that, despite the recession, most managers know better than to make cuts to their marketing campaigns. Experts across the board agree that keeping brand awareness thriving is essential to coming out of the downturn strong.

The “2009 Tribalization of Business Survey” found that some of the top online marketing strategies during a recession include: increasing word-of-mouth (38%), improving customer loyalty (34%) and creating brand awareness (30%). Many executives feel this can be best done through the matrix of social networks. However, certain obstacles exist — like getting people to join, return and stay engaged. To gain the best results, market plans should include partnering up with other vendors, running exciting promotions and contests, offering special perks for participating and giving community members something of value for their time. In addition to these objectives, executives are also placing some emphasis on idea generation (29%) and customer support (23%).

Loyalty programs are a popular online marketing strategy that offers excellent customer retention and return-on-investment. Research firm CIO Insight reports that nearly 75% of U.S. shoppers belong to at least one loyalty program, although these initiatives aren’t functioning as well as they could. The key to making these programs work is to offer continuous incentives to spend and special perks that really make the customers feel important and valued. These days, consumers want coupons and contests, but they also want content and substance, which is where marketing newsletters come into play. To read about four successful case studies of loyalty programs, visit www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Special-Reports/Loyalty-Programs-How-4-Companies-Foster-Loyalty.

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