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Archive for the ‘Economic Downturn’ Category« Previous Entries Next Entries »7 Steps to Making the Most out of Market Research in a RecessionThursday, July 30th, 2009
Following yesterdays post on ‘Market Research In A Recession’ is today’s post detailing the seven steps to minimize the impact of reduced market research spending. These steps from John Quelch (a professor at Harvard Business School) confirm a lot of what we have learnt in business to business markets over the last few months:
To view the latest marketing strategies of large multi-national corporates in a recession, click here. Original article viewed at http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/ Recession Clouds May Be LiftingTuesday, July 7th, 2009
The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s latest Marketing Trends survey shows hints of increasing business confidence among UK marketers. While 72% of the 1,223 marketers surveyed still do not think that the UK will completely pull out of recession by the end of this year, the number of respondents believing the situation will worsen over the next year halved – to 34% – compared to the last Marketing Trends survey conducted in autumn 2008. 35% expect business to improve throughout 2009, and more than a quarter (26%) believes the UK economy will improve over the next 12 months, a figure that compares favourably to just 11% in the previous survey. However, almost a third of respondents are concerned over losing their jobs in the next 12 months and 18% of self-employed marketers worry that the recession may force them to close their business this year. Nevertheless, while 2009 is still anticipated to be a tough year overall, there are definite signs that British marketers believe the worst may soon be over. Backing this belief, a survey of global marketers recently carried out by B2B International showed almost half of the respondents (47%) to be feeling optimistic about their own organisation’s prospects over the coming year. Meanwhile, the latest Business Trends report by accounting firm BDO Stoy Hayward LLP shows that UK businesses expect the pace of economic decline to slow markedly over the next quarter, supporting the UK Chancellor’s predictions of a recovery starting in Q4 2009. Beware all premium brands!Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
Received wisdom has always suggested that strong brands will withstand a recession. The argument goes that in a recession there is a flight to safety and strong brands represent safety. An interesting study carried out amongst consumers in the US suggests exactly the opposite. A half of all the people who had previously been loyal to a brand appear to have reduced their loyalty or defected during 2008. They are switching to the value brands offered by major supermarkets. This raises the question, “will the same thing happen in business to business markets?”. There is a possibility that it will not – at least not in quite the same way. Supermarket brands have now become some of the most trusted in their own right. For a number of years there has been a general migration to supermarket brands as people have recognised that the products in the supermarket packaging are quite probably made by the same companies that make premium brand products that cost 30% more. Things are slightly different in industrial markets. The closest you get to the “supermarket brand” in industrial markets is usually referred to as a generic brand, a Chinese brand, an Eastern European brand etc. In fact, the word “reputation” is used just as often as brand. However, it would be foolish and naive to think that business to business buyers and specifiers are slavishly buying products from their favoured suppliers at any price, without looking around. In the heady days before the recession it was not untypical to research a market and find that only 20% of companies were “price buyers”. Today it would be unusual to find less than 30% price buyers in any business to business market. The shift to value is occurring everywhere.
Increasing Sales In Challenging Times, part 1 of 3Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
The American Marketing Association’s flagship publication, Marketing News, recently ran an article entitled ‘Look Farther Afield, which described how research should answer certain questions for marketers hoping to expand into new markets. This feature was contributed by B2B International’s very own Julia Cupman. Julia’s full original article is serialized over our next 3 blog entries: The recent economic turmoil involving long established financial pillars has had a resounding impact on business. Many companies have experienced declining sales and confidence in the economy is dwindling. Numerous economists are claiming that it is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, but while the seriousness and consequences of the problem cannot be denied, it is only an economic stymie if businesses allow themselves to lose confidence and focus. The fear invoked by the Wall Street tremors has led to a fierce slashing of budgets, in particular marketing budgets. Why are marketers feeling the pinch with decreased spending power when it is such a crucial time to understand customers’ requirements and meet their needs before they potentially defect? Indeed, just a 5% reduction in the rate of customer churn can increase profits by as much as 85%. Given that most businesses lose around half of their customers every five years, it is frightening to think how many customers have been lost in the past few months alone as a result of the faltering economy. The case is already clear: do nothing, and suffer. The drive towards lower costs and consequently lower prices is increasingly resulting in the substitution of value with low price – an area where not everyone can compete as profit margins are squeezed dry. In fact, a company that seeks refuge in cutting its prices may fatally delineate its own downfall as it could devalue its offering and denigrate its brand. It is thus paramount that in times of a weak economy, businesses seek proactive means of remaining competitive, and cutting prices may not be the answer. This begs the question as to what companies – especially their marketers – can do to give their business a welcome lift in times when the only direction appears to be downward. Sell moreThis may seem absurd when it is challenging to simply retain customers and to ensure that turnover and profits do not slip. So how can selling more be possible, and in what way is it a panacea? It is necessary to think outside the box. With sell more, think sell elsewhere, think sell farther afield, think new opportunities. Of course entering new markets is not appropriate for all companies, but it is an option that many companies could consider, particularly if they are faced with stagnating demand domestically. Thus, if growth is not occurring locally, chase it internationally. The growth forecast for China next year, for example, stands at 9.5%, contrary to 1.8% for the EU. Indeed the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) offer a plethora of opportunities as labor is often cheap and readily available, investment is increasing and the prospects look good. Consider Russia and the helicopter industry, for instance. AgustaWestland is currently researching the opportunities in Russia, and Textron Bell has just signed up a new sales representative (Jet Transfer) in Russia which has committed to sales valued at over US$10 million. These two players have recognized an unmet need and a clear opportunity, as only half of Russia’s civil helicopters are in flyable condition and domestic production is limited. This article, which goes on to describe many of the questions that marketers should ask in order to explore, scope and define market expansion opportunities, continues tomorrow. Darwin And The RecessionFriday, March 13th, 2009
In today’s Thursday Night Insight, Paul Hague puts forward his argument that the recession could be responsible for bringing about a return to ‘traditional values’ Have you noticed an increasing sloppiness in our business attire over the last decade? I am thinking here of the way we dress, the way we speak and the way we communicate. Of course, our forefathers would say that there is nothing new in this. Every generation claims that standards are slipping compared with the previous ones. I’m not sure I fully subscribe to this. Just because somebody wears a Trilby hat rather than an ostrich plumed cavalier hat, doesn’t mean that we are moving backwards. I am thinking about the way we dress for work. The initial concession of “dress down Friday” gave way to the abandonment of the tie on every day of the week. ”Smart casual” became “straight out of the garden casual”. A similar and parallel trend has taken place in our writing. We dash off e-mails without taking care of either the grammar or spelling. Blackberries encourage a curtness of communication verging on sheer rudeness. Text messages have created an interesting but new language which, for some of us, takes longer to decipher and create than the good old English we grew up with. However, the worm looks as if it might be turning and I think that it is the recession we have to thank. Have you noticed that the tie and suit is making a return? Do you get more e-mails which begin “Dear” rather than “Hi”? Are the comma, colon and semi-colon getting a new lease of life? And, if this is so, why should it be? The only explanation I have is that the boom times of the last 10 years created a cockiness which justified the more relaxed way of working. Claims that informal business practices were breaking down barriers, increasing creativity, and improving efficiency were hard to deny as the profits rolled in. In the yin and yang of life – that delicate balance between good and bad, sloppiness and perfection – we can all be guilty of sliding down the route of least resistance. Dress codes, forms of address, written notes have all suffered. And now as the economy tightens, we suddenly feel we can’t leave anything to chance. When visiting a potential client, some small gremlin at the back of my mind advises me to wear a crisp white shirt, pick out a red tie and don my navy blue suit because I have known for years that it engenders confidence in both the wearer and the observer. My notes to clients have increased in their frequency and I try to improve on my accuracy. Perhaps we will see this trend gather momentum so that it isn’t just the things I have been talking about that will change. I predict there will be less automated phone answering systems and more real people to talk to. Perhaps there will be genuine improvements made to services as people fight for every inch of business by trying harder. I am not enjoying this recession at all but I can see it is whipping me into shape. It must be doing the same to others. Darwin would have had great fun if he was alive today watching his principles work out in business. « Previous Entries Next Entries » |
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