Four pieces of advice for a tight economy

Quick post here:

1. Narrow your focus. Classic branding strategy and business strategy is to ensure you are narrowly focused on doing "one thing" and doing it right. Hey - big car companies - take note! Don't blow your brains out (and budget) by trying to be everything to everyone. Figure out one thing and do it right. E.g. GMC = Trucks (focus only on trucks ... get out of SUVs), Chevy = Cheap family cars (focus on Cavalier, Malibu, and Impala ... get out of Corvette and Camaro), Pontiac = Sporty cars (focus on Grand Am ... ah heck ... kill the brand entirely), Cadillac = Luxury (focus on real luxury ... get rid of the low end models).
   
2. Focus on your brand. Be sure you know what you are all about in the eyes of your customers, and how you deliver that to your customers.
   
3. Become low cost. Look to Wal-Mart, Southwest Airlines, and others. Figure out how they deliver great service and great customer experiences at low cost. How do they keep their customers happy, their employees happy, and earn a profit at the same time (even in this ugly economy). Adapt those lessons to your business model.
   
4. Innovate by providing an alternative at a lower price. If you are looking at your business and thinking "How do I innovate?" Look simply at your product or your competitor's products and figure out a cheaper alternative that will fundamentally change the market. Then figure out how to create that product and go after the market. Eventually work your way up the food chain through the higher end models. A good example of that is virtually all of the competition to the North American Auto Industry. Volkswagon introduced the bug in the 50s at the low end of the market, and scared the North American Auto industry out of that space, then came back and ate their lunch at the mid-end (even at a premium price). Honda did it back in the 70s starting with the Civic. Then ate the high end with the Acura line. Hyundai did it in the 80s starting with the Pony. This year they won top quality honors for a luxury car. Watch out ... here comes Kia.

There are four things you can start doing tomorrow!

Important Marketing Trends for 2009 at CES in Vegas

I found this on YouTube today. It is an interview by AdAge of Accenture's Greg Douglass. Interesting to me was that the word VALUE popped out again. I think that is such an important word to focus on (one way or another) in 2009.

Greg's two key messages are:

1. Make your product aspirational. Consumers want to aspire to some sort of new Electronic thing.
2. Bundle services and options with products they sell. We haven't seen this sort of bundling to any major extent yet. Adding value to the device will be key in 2009.

Hot Marketing Strategies

In my daily random Google search, I typed in "Hot Marketing Strategies". The first several listings were all businesses touting their capabilities. About the 6th or 7th listing was for MoreBusiness.com. On it, they had a list of "Cool Tips for Hot Marketing Success"

The list (paraphrased) is:

• Create an Energetic Team - with a mix of energetic people from various departments Guide and Coordinate
• You should not only lead your marketing team but also ensure that each member is aware of their responsibilities. They need to be able to act in unison to ensure the success of the marketing campaign.
• Guide and Coordinate - guide them according to their strengths and weaknesses and coordinate various teams to avoid misunderstandings. Also, coordinate with your back-end operations
• Keep It Simple - It makes it easier on your own company and on your customers.
  
• Consistency with Flexibility - Your marketing campaign should be consistent & brand oriented.
• Plan In Advance - take the time to plan, rather than just responding to competition.
• The most expensive marketing is marketing that doesn’t work - Plan