Does Your Gut Have Sh*t For Brains?
In the 2000 movie “High Fidelity,” John Cusak plays Rob Gordon, a record store owner recounting his top five all-time relationship breakups.
At one point in the movie, Rob has the self-realization that every time he allows “gut instinct” to dictate the course of his relationships, he ends up regretting it.
Disgusted with himself, Rob finally admits, “I’ve come to the conclusion that my guts have sh*t for brains.”
Rob’s discovery of his gut’s unreliability as a trusted adviser brings me to the point of this email.
During economic declines, when business may be slower than usual, many businesses begin looking for places to cut budgets and save money. And many make the mistake of cutting marketing.
I hope your business isn’t experiencing a downturn. But if it is, or you fear that it will, your gut instinct may be to cut marketing, or worse yet, eliminate it all together. Don’t listen to your gut! It has sh*t for brains!
Why ignore your gut? We can answer that with another question. “Why do we market to begin with?”
I think the answer to that question is simple. We market to 1) get new customers, and 2) keep our current customers.
So now ask yourself, “What happens if we stop marketing?”
Again, simple answers. 1) We won’t get new customers, and 2) we risk losing our current customers. Isn’t that the exact opposite of what we want during a downturn?
Over the next several weeks, we’ll focus on cost-effective, sales boosting methods of using the Internet to get new customers and keep the ones you have.
We’ll start from the top – planning. No marketing effort, Internet or otherwise, will ever produce favorable results unless you start with a solid plan.
Then we’ll hit on topics including targeting, search engine marketing v. print advertising, webinars v. rent-a-cars and/or airline tickets, email marketing, Web site conversion paths (and why they matter), Web site analytics and more.
I’ll even direct you to free resources along the way, such as this strategy outlined by Josh Bernoff, VP & Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, Inc. for marketing in a recession.
So, until next time, keep your chin up and your attitude positive.
