Volume 6, issue 8

August 2008

Outsmart, Don't Outspend.

Let's not kid around. Times are tough. As tough as they've been in years. Between the down economy and the high cost of gasoline, people just aren't buying new vehicles with the same fervor they were a few years back. Suffice it to say the good times will return, but maybe not for a while. 

So what to do? Here are 5 keys to thriving in a down cycle. 

1. Stay the course. The first rule of marketing in a down cycle is to not cut back on the number of contact points. The last thing you want to do when sales are slow is to cut the only thing that drives sales. Look upon this as an opportunity to gain market share while your competition is cutting back and just trying to ride out the storm. Do this, and when they come back, you'll have gained a substantial advantage. 
   
   
2. Focus on retention. Keeping the customers you have should be your first priority. Keeping these customers is less expensive than finding new ones. Doing this will ensure that you don't lose ground during a down cycle. Growth will come when things turn around, and until then you can rest assured that if you're not shrinking, you're gaining on the competition.
   
   
3. Go digital. Digital marketing (email, website, blogs, etc.) is a great way to stay in touch with current customers and prospects without spending a lot of money.
   
   
4. If you must cut, don't cut frequency. Sometimes cutting budget is inevitable. But if you must cut, don't cut frequency. Staying in front of your audience is the surest way to keep your marketshare and share-of-mind high. Instead, try cutting back the size of complexity of your ads. Or cut out high cost elements like TV and roll that money into a digital or direct marketing campaign.
   
   
5. Try new things. At this stage, what do you have to lose? A down market is a great time to try different media, new technologies, a different target audience or new promotional ideas. Everyone else is going to get conservative - so go the other way and see what you can make happen. If it works in a down market, just think how well it'll work when things turn around. 

Taking these things into consideration will ensure that you use a down cycle appropriately - which means using it to gain market share and steal customers from your competition.

Budgets Down? Go Digital!

Digital marketing is the number one way to keep frequency up while cutting marketing costs. Digital marketing tactics and programs, like those available from Dealer Impact, provide you the opportunity to deliver high-impact messages while avoiding printing costs, productions costs, postage and more. Visit www.dealerimpact.com for a full line of our digital marketing tools and tactics.

Or for more information, contact your Dealer Impact sales representative.