Intuit - Online Marketing with Anita Campbell

Making the Most of Online Marketing During a Downturn

Anita CampbellMay 21,

2008

2www.smallbiztrends.com

About Anita Campbell

2+ Decades of business experience, running own business last 7 years

Editor, Small Business Trends (www.smallbiztrends.com)

Observe and write about trends affecting small businesses

Located Cleveland, Ohio Ask the Expert twice here at Quickbooks

Community


Invest in more marketing, not less

Spend more on marketing during tight times! When prospects tighten their belts, you are competing for fewer dollars Competitors will compete harder and sales may dry up

But spend selectively Watch your own costs

Online marketing is ideal Cost effective Shorter lead times for many activities Flexible: can be turned up and turned down as needed Today’s social media levels playing field


Overview of online marketing


Website is Core

Your Website should be #1 priorityThink of it as your virtual place of business Prospects will check you out – first impressions count Keep it fresh

If your latest news is from 2005, it’s hurting you more than helping

Best design you can afford – inexpensive outsourced design options Enhance it with functionality: search function; email subscription box; video message or SitePal avatar; FAQs; polls; news widgets; headlines from your blog; printer-friendly articles – lots of “bolt-on” options available today, and many are free.


Overview of online marketing


Second Tier Priorities

After Your Website is in good shape, consider:

Blog – start one of your own, preferably Dollar for dollar, your best option if done right Very low cost, but does take some time Gives you a place to publish information for clients; attracts prospects

Email marketing Build your house list – it’s worth gold Look for reasons to collect email addresses (with permission) – online and offline Send our regular communications, but don’t overdo it. Once a month is good.


Second Tier Priorities (cont’d)

SEO - Search engine optimization To get better found in Google, Yahoo and MSN Hire an SEO firm to help Or teach yourself the basics

PPC – pay per click ads Fastest way to draw traffic to your website Can be geo-targeted for your local area Can set up budget and stick with it – reasonable cost

Press releases online Use a service such as PRWeb or BusinessWire


Existing or New Customers?


Start with existing customers

A bird in the hand …. Focus on cross-selling and upselling Example: email marketing suggesting new services to existing customers; or offering discounts for renewing or upgrading; bundled offers that increase revenue per customer.

Work your data! Detailed accounting and CRM data is a gold mine. Keep profitable existing customers happy:

Focus on most-profitable customers first, then mid-range customers. Try to reduce your costs of delivering to least-profitable customers. Examples: tiering offerings with reduced service levels for lower paying customers; self-serve help desk software; knowledge bases and FAQs online; checklists and instructional documents rather than one-on-one time.


Start with existing customers (cont’d)

Consider building out an online customer community Enhances and grows existing customer loyalty – “they belong” Allows customer evangelists to self-select and shine Can help keep costs in check

Typically 3 easy components: Blog (free or low cost, such as Blogger, TypePad and WordPress) Forums /discussion boards (freeware options available) RSS feeds (from blog and forums – enables subscriptions)

Consider staffing for forum seeding/ moderation and blog writing Parts are easy to outsourceOften community members will step forward and volunteer, for the recognition they get


New customer acquisition

Hone your offerings and your message Focus on solving customer pain

Author Barry Moltz says during downturns you have to sell “painkillers, not vitamins”

Focus is crucial; don’t get distracted Target your marketing efforts with clear goals in mind (see chart )


Don’t forget partner programs

Partner programs with rev share can improve brand visibility and draw add-on revenue streams

Customers enjoy discounts and freebies during tight times Techniques:

Set up a Partner page on your website with offers or couponsExpect partners to do the sameEmail campaigns with partner discounts – reciprocity expected, of course! Use your blog if you have one, to highlight partner discounts, coupons and freebies


Focus efforts with an online strategy


Social Media – Advanced Strategies

Today’s social media can be very cost effective Leverages word of mouth Choose social media sites for your target market

Some social media sites have a target demographic or appeal A typical 3-legged stool of social media today might include setting

up profiles and using the networking capabilities of:LinkedIn.comFacebook.comTwitter.com

But don’t ignore others – experiment and evaluate Jumpup.com


Outsourcing of marketing

Online marketing can be cost effective, but time is the trade-off Consider outsourcing Some functions that are readily outsource-able:

Website design and copy-writing, especially landing pages Writing blog content Writing email newsletters and email communications SEO Linking building PPC advertising campaign management Social media marketing


Reading list and Resources

QuickBooks Library (including SEO Guide) http://quickbooksgroup.com/qblibrary/radio/

8 Things You Need To Start a Business During a Recession - Barry Moltz http://barrymoltz.com/rants/articles/published-works/8-things-you-need-to-start-a-business-during-

a-recession

Make Marketing Work During Economic Downturns - Kelly Vanderzanden http://www.cfm-online.com/tips_detail.cfm?TipID=206

Marketing into a Downturn – Jim Novo http://blog.jimnovo.com/2007/12/28/marketing-into-downturn/


Questions

What questions can I answer?