How Online Marketers Adjust in Tough Economic Times

Published
by
Eric Dudley
on October 13, 2008
in Customer Acquisition, Customer Retention, Email Marketing, Online Marketing, Paid Search, SEO, Search Marketing and Social Media
. Tags: , , , , , , , , .
The plunge of the stock market last week is certainly a reflection of the weakening economy and dare I finally say recession.  Few of us are unaffected that have investments in the market, however, it was encouraging to see the Dow’s 11% rebound today!  Frankly, I am still in shock over Wachovia’s failure and acquisition by Wells Fargo in a week’s time.

With the market turmoil and economic factors that we don’t control placing pressure on marketing, what are smart marketers doing? I recall a Bain study, that said in a downturn:

Savvy management teams look beyond cost cutting and seek out opportunities to grow the top line and improve their strategic position

As strategic online marketers, we are helping our client focus on driving measurable results that can be monetized and scaled for the upturn.  Equally important is strengthening the bonds of loyalty with your team, customers, and key partners.

Interestingly, in the first quarter of this year, Forrester and MarketingProfs survey of Online Markters found that in a recession the top 5 marketing channels that they would increase in investment include:

  1. Social Networking
  2. User Generated Content
  3. Email Marketing
  4. Blogging
  5. Search Marketing

Online Marketing Adjustments in a Recession

In a very recent less scientific poll from Top Rank Online Marketing when asked of online marketers ”what top 3 Internet tactics will you emphasize most in the next 6 month“, the top 5 online marketing tactics were:

  1. Search engine optimization
  2. Blogging
  3. Pay per click
  4. Email marketing
  5. Social networking (Facebook, LinkedIn)

What marketing channels are you increasing or shifting in this economy?  And does it surprise you to see search engine optimization, Social Networking and Blogging as high on the list?  Let me know your thoughts.

1 Response to “How Online Marketers Adjust in Tough Economic Times”

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  1. 1 Corey Creed
    January 5, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    We are taking a serious look at e-mail marketing for ourselves and our clients. It seems like it is one of those areas that can provide the most bang for the buck if you are already established with your online presence.

    SEO - Already done what we can, in general.
    Blogging - Already a constant effort.
    PPC - Always getting more expensive
    Social - Incredible potential, but the ROI is not always there.

    Everyone uses e-mail. It’s cheap too.

    Those are my thoughts.

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