Internet Marketing and the Credit Crunch - what to do, what to do

When the going gets tough make sure you spend your marketing budget right!!

I was reading about how businesses are tackling the fear of recession a few days ago. Of course now is a really good time for a lot of businesses to roll out the excuses for not doing well, business is drying up - customers are not spending - generally bad times ahead!! I don't happen to agree and there a lot of businesses out there who are approaching this time of difficulty with a very upbeat and positive attitude.

In the early nineties when the last recession hit us one of the first budgets many companies would cut would be the marketing budget - of course this made things worse, not only were customers leaving (going bust or tightening their belts) but there was also no process to attract new customers. This was insane in my opinion - but I can't blame them.

Now some businesses will want to do the same, but I would urge them not to. The trick to marketing is having a budget and spending it wisely. So I would suggest the following

1. Monitor every advert/ piece of marketing to find out how much businesses it brings you - if you are unsure if something is working i.e an advert in a newspaper, then stop it - chances are it is not working and until you are sure it is you should not be wasting your money.
2. If something is working, replicate it.
3. Start off small and test if something is going to work. Don't commit a huge budget to something that you have not proved will work for your business. You should always be prepared that you may lose the money you spend, so only spend what you can afford to lose.
4. For the ultimate in traceability do most of your marketing via the Internet using Pay Per Click, email marketing or Search Engine Marketing (SEO)

I strongly endorse marketing on the Internet, it is proven to be the most effective form of advertising EVER. If you want to find out more why not attend one of my Internet Marketing seminars which will give you the lowdown on how you can make Internet Marketing work for your business.