Apr 20 2009
Time to cheer up: How being a marketing optimist can improve your market share
It might seem like a big ask, but now is the time to perk up and start to think about all the good things you could be doing to improve your market share and to drive sales – even in a downturn.
When everyone else is cutting budgets and panicking, marketing needs to act quickly to ensure future growth is achievable. Easier said than done, but as marketing strategy consultants, we are encouraging our clients to take a closer look at how they spend their business development and marketing budgets and to think about how they might do things differently.
For example, try focussing spend on tangible demand generation rather than brand-building. An overhaul of your approach to new business development will reap more measurable rewards at the moment rather than a corporate ad in an industry glossy. Or perhaps try focussing your sales efforts on individual accounts, particularly where your competitors may be weakening their grasp as they start to suffer from the effects of the recession.
If that’s too parochial, try just focussing on smaller market segments to achieve real market penetration.
As far as any weakening competitors are concerned, there may even be some who right now could be open to a merger or even acquisition. It’s a bold move but one that could pay real dividends when the market improves.
In terms of cost-free marketing activity, nothing can beat face-to-face contact with the senior people at your key customers. Whilst is does require time on your part, the value of sitting down with your key customers for a meaningful discussion on how you can work through the turbulent times together is immeasurable. Especially if your competitors are also doing their jobs and keeping an eye on any possible new business opportunities. You can use these interactions not just to build or shore up relationships, but also to glean valuable market information. And as the old saying goes, information is power.