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Ok.  I’m late again.  For the half-dozen or so of you out there awaiting this blog (Hi Sis!), I’ll make it up to you.  Maybe I’ll buy you all a beer Friday.  Or perhaps (gasp) a second blog on Friday. Stay tuned…

 

In any event, if I seem to be focusing on words like “budget,” “lean” and “inexpensive” lately, it’s because the industry I serve is doing so as well.  And if you take nothing away from this post today, let it be that I am amusing, make cunning observations and thus, am a worthy PR consultant  you do not have to stop trying to win new customers in difficult market cycles.

 

So how exactly does one keep up a marketing and public relations initiative when the budget has dried up? I’m going to provide a few examples here, but you shouldn’t need them.  That’s right.  You can do this yourself.  You have been for years.  Start by thinking back to the early days of your business.  I’m going to bet that you didn’t open your doors to the fanfare of a multi-million dollar ad campaign designed and produced by the best of Madison Avenue.  Instead, I bet you networked.  You knocked on doors (or sent e-mails).  You hopped on planes (I think they charge an extra fee for hopping on planes now, so be careful.).  You built a referral network.  You sent faxes.  And so on.

 

As your little business grew, you didn’t have quite as much time for this.  It became easier just to buy an ad in the trade publication.  It became easier to rent a list and send a few thousand postcards.  It became easier to have a booth or sponsorship at a trade conference.

 

I’m not here to bash those things—like most arrows in the marketing quiver, these can be effective channels when used with some thought.  But they’re also usually expensive.  And you’re relinquishing much of your control over the message and execution in trade for access to a (theoretically) larger pool of possible prospects.

 

Even without the huge trade sponsorship or ad buy, you can get your message out and win new customers.  Just think through the following questions carefully:

 

1.      Who exactly is my customer?

2.      Where can I find my customer?

 

If you can’t yet answer these questions, consider a work-from-home scheme. Or perhaps apply for TARP funding.  I’m still looking for a successful business that doesn’t really know its customer and its customer’s habits.

 

Moving on…

 

3.      What value do I deliver/what challenges do I solve for my customers?

4.      What do I do, in delivering that value, that few or none of my competitors do? (and you need to be more specific than “provide great customer service.”  That puts you in a category of about 99% of the industry.)

 

This isn’t just marketing.  It’s sales.  It’s message formation.  You’re building your “elevator speech.”  And as you know by now, if you can’t answer those questions in a second, you’re dead in the water.

 

Armed with your message, here are a few ideas for taking the word to the streets without an expensive ad buy.  I’m offering them as starting points, not a comprehensive list.

 

The traditional outlet: Direct mail or targeted mailing, with or without a rented mailing list.

 

The alternative:           A useful e-mail…featuring YOU.

 

…or more appropriately, featuring something of value to the reader, sent by YOU.  Consider a targeted e-mail using your own VIP or prospect list.  Don’t have a list?  Do your sales people?  Do you have connections on LinkedIn?  Have you sponsored a conference lately that provided a list (hint:  pick a conference where you’d find prospects, rather than peers)?  I’ve talked about list building before.  But chances are, you have some kind of list.  Use it.  It doesn’t need to have 50,000 names in it.  Go through it, and be sure the names are people who might have a need for your service.  Or who know people who might have a need for your service.  Oh, and send something of value.  Here are a few hints for a simple but effective e-newsletter.  If the members of the list are familiar with you or your brand, even a modest update will do.  Top of mind awareness, and all that…

 

 

The traditional outlet:  Pricey seminar sponsorship

 

The alternative:           DIY Webinar/seminar or similar event

 

What?  How dare I suggest that anyone but the trade publications and associations be allowed to assemble people like, say, YOU in a room, put out some donuts and charge $800 to hear you speak?  Silly me.  Nobody could ever possibly do that but a publication or association.  Right?

 

Listen.  You don’t need a Las Vegas resort.  You don’t need 30 speakers.  You don’t even need 200 attendees.  You probably know 3 or 4 bright colleagues willing to speak on your budget (free).  Rent a local community center or even a simple hotel conference room (not as expensive as you think).  Forgo expensive catering for the simple stuff (continental breakfast anyone?).  Give them good content on a topic of interest to them (in other words, don’t do a seminar on the wonders of your product), and be sure they know YOUR brand is making this all possible.  It can be…and has been….done.

 

The traditional outlet:  An expensive media relations agency and campaign

 

The alternative:           An inexpensive consultant with crazy industry experience and a charming smile.  YOU

 

If you read industry publications and find yourself asking “Why am I not in there?” it’s probably because you haven’t tried.  You probably haven’t gotten this far in the industry without picking up a bit of knowledge along the way.  All that it takes to do media placement is time and thought.  Remember these tips.  And if you don’t feel like flashing back to an earlier blog of mine, remember this:  to get a story in a publication, you need to think like the writer or editor.  Not like your VP of product development.  Not like the VP of sales.  But like the editor.  The magic comes in tying your key message into the story the publication’s subscribers want to read.  And no, “My product solves your (trendy) challenge” is not enough for a headline in The Wall Street Journal.

 

Remember, this is just a jumping off point.  Just keep in mind that your marketing efforts shouldn’t die when some of the customers do (metaphorically speaking, of course).  Go back to your roots, and remember what got you here in the first place.  Nothing inspires creativity like lean times.  So get to it!