Marketing in a Tough Economy
Posted by Beth Hrusch on Fri, Jul 31, 2009
These days, f
amilies aren't the only ones having to make the dollar stretch further. Marketing departments around the world are also cutting back and trying to get more out of what they have to work with. The marketing dollar has in fact, become so elusive for some marketers that they are turning to inexpensive new strategies.
Well, necessity is the mother of invention. And having to come up with an innovative new solution isn't the worst thing that could happen to you. So, what are these clever marketers doing to survive in this economy? A growing number of them are turning to content marketing to attract and retain customers. It's an inexpensive and effective way to establish a solid customer base.
Resting on the premise that useful information is always popular with consumers, content marketers are leveraging the power of content to do three things:
1. Inform- A potential customers will never become an actual customer unless you tell them something that they need to know.
2. Solve problems- Ditto if you don't help them achieve a solution to their problems.
3. Compel to act- Content marketing that's done right will have a clear call to action that the consumer can connect to the useful content in order to follow through and purchase.
Content does all this for you, and more. It gives your business an online voice, establishes you as a trusted source for your product or service and increases sales. And it's cheap. So if you are a marketer, save yourself time and resources by establishing a content marketing strategy before you invest in traditional marketing methods. You may find that you can shift your budget away from more expensive and less effective marketing methods and toward content creation for better results.
Cold calling and print ads are interruptive. Content draws people to it like a magnet. Which approach will give you more bang for your buck?