Myths and realities of marketing
What’s the best way to deal with marketing in a recovery?
Three times in six months I’ve had the opportunity to publicly address that question, refine my thinking and post brief essays exposing my thought process, real-world examples and recommendations. But since that was done over time, here are the myths and tips neatly bundled:
- Re-balance your marketing efforts before you reduce (“Re-balance the Marketing Portfolio” September 7, 2009)
- Customer service is marketing, especially in bad times (“Customer Service as Downturn Advantage” September 20, 2009)
- Brand maintenance helps retain perceived value (“The Good Downturn Brand Shepherd” October 14, 2009)
- Having a long-term strategy makes it easier to take advantage of short-term opportunities (“Strategy’s Downturn Role, Redux” December 27, 2009)
- Communicate honestly and often or customers will do it for you (“Why Bad News Is Good” February 9, 2010)
My thanks to the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, the Bellevue Collection Merchants and the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce — all in Washington State — for letting me further explore these concepts and share what I learned.
