New Year’s Resolutions for 2009

by John Ellett, CEO

Next year will be a challenge for many marketers. I believe there will be two major forces in play in 2009 and marketers can resolve to deal with them proactively or be overwhelmed by them. The first will be a difficult economy. It started in 2008 and will continue next year.Challenging economies historically hurt weaker players more than stronger ones, so it will create an opportunity to separate yourself from competition. The second major force will be the continued shift from the mass marketing era to the digital marketing era (see last issue’s article for more on this subject). This creates opportunities for marketers who understand that technology will make it possible for consumers and business buyers to experience more personalized ways of interacting with their communities and those that offer them goods and services. To prevail in 2009 there are five resolutions that marketers should make:

1. Get personal. Communicate with your market as individuals. Target prospects based on behaviors not just demographics. Create Web experiences based on individual preferences. Tailor products to unique needs using mass-customization techniques. Recommend products based on your customers’ previous purchases.
2. Be interactive. Use new tools to listen. Social media monitoring. Twitter. User- experience ratings. Forums. Provide information to buyers when and where they want it. SMS alerts. Mobile-enabled websites. Video content. iPhone widgets.
3. Facilitate community. Customers want to learn from their peers. Help them do that. Create forums for information exchange, both virtual and physical. Connect them to each other. Let them express their opinions about your products with ratings. Let them help each other solve problems. Let them be your advocates on Facebook or LinkedIn.
4. Deliver value. Think beyond discount promotions and find ways to make a real impact on your customers’ lives or businesses. Taking dollars off something they don’t need isn’t offering value. They have problems: solve them. They have needs: address them. They have aspirations: fulfill them. If you are not sure what those are: ask them.
5. Be authentic. No BS in 2009. The more engaged you become with your markets, the more they will get to know the real you. You can either build trust or foster cynicism. Be honest. Admit when you aren’t the right fit. You’ll improve credibility when you are. Own up to problems you may create. Then fix them.