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Archive for the ‘Julia Cupman’ Category« Previous Entries Next Entries »Free eBook: Effective Marketing Strategies for a RecessionMonday, August 10th, 2009
B2B International is delighted to present its latest free eBook – Effective Marketing Strategies for a Recession. At the present time, many marketing specialists are asking themselves how the recession has been affecting fellow marketers. They are wondering how competitor organisations have responded to the current economic environment, and what their own strategic responses ought to be. Based on her own primary research conducted among 400 marketing professionals, and drawing upon the work of many well-respected experts in the field, Julia Cupman has authored this new eBook. Focusing on the role of marketing strategy, common reactions to an economic downturn and those marketing strategies that are considered to be the most successful in a recession, this eBook will help marketers worldwide adapt to the pressures brought about by today’s global economic downturn.
Where is the love?Friday, June 12th, 2009
In this week’s Thursday Night Insight, Julia Cupman draws the analogy between marketing and Cupid’s bow and arrow… The TV series The Bachelorette is arguably complete and utter rubbish that is watched avidly by hormonal 16 year old girls and me. I’m not ashamed to admit that I follow this reality TV show and look forward to it every Monday evening. To me, the series is enjoyable escapism from the daily grind of complex questionnaire design, heavy-going data crunching and desk research on industrial products. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the TV series, The Bachelorette is all about dating. The series is based on one woman – the eponymous single – and thirty supposedly eligible men, all of whom are seeking to impress the Bachelorette, to fall in love with her and to ultimately marry her. The challenge is to keep in the competition as every week at least one man is “dumped”, i.e. voted off the show by the very Bachelorette herself. The Bachelorette is clearly a damsel in distress who is so desperate to settle down that she retorts to this rather pathetic TV series as a last resort. The series producers have gone to every length to ensure that a wide demographic spread of male hunks of anatomy is represented, from blonde-haired Baywatch surfer types to brown-haired Mel Gibson look-alikes, from goody two-shoes to bad boys, from young sweethearts to mature softies. What’s more, there’s a good mix of professions in there too including an Olympic cyclist, a break dance instructor, a pizza entrepreneur, an oil and gas consultant and a wine maker. So ladies – do any sound appealing yet? Probably not as this is not enough information to make one of the most important decisions of your life. Marrying a man is almost synonymous with buying a house. It is a huge investment to make as the life of singlehood is sacrificed for a life of sharing virtually everything – belongings, experiences, emotions etc. And the reason I think this TV series is so ridiculous is because this very investment is made through a contrived process and in a very false setting. You’re probably wondering where this is all going and how I see a link with marketing. Having watched this drivel, it occurred to me that every one of us subconsciously goes through a marketing exercise in relationship building. The TV series shows, admittedly in an over-the-top fashion, how by process of elimination, the Bachelorette makes her selection around the 4 Ps:
Successful marketing is like true love. Like true love, marketing has to be requited in that a company has to make its products engaging for its users to become engaged. The recent recessionary storm with decreased expenditure on marketing has taken the spark out of so many business relationships, leaving many fickle buyers who are no longer loyal to the products they used to love. Companies whose prospects are yet to be found or whose customers are no longer loyal should boost their marketing testosterone to establish or reignite the chemistry between their products and users. So much in life is about creating and maintaining successful relationships. Marketers need to ensure that their offering has that wow factor in order to strike while the iron is hot! The ROI Of Market Research – New PodcastTuesday, May 26th, 2009
ROI is an oft-repeated business mantra for any kind of major strategic investment, and market research is certainly no different from other business expenditure in this respect. Market intelligence studies are often commissioned with laudable intentions – principal amongst these being the development and growth of the organisation concerned. However, for all the lofty ambitions and expectation that may be placed behind a market research project, without careful planning and management, the end result can all-to-easily disappoint. A study may fail to target the original objectives from the market research brief or the report may be too far divorced from the actions that will effect real change within an organisation. In effect, the question that companies should ask when commissioning market research is "am I getting my money’s worth?" – A query that should be asked of major investments at any time, not least during a recession. In B2B International’s latest podcast, we broach these very issues: How can we ensure market research delivers value for money? How can this be verified or measured? And, perhaps more fundamentally, what is the value of market research in the first instance? The podcast is based upon a white paper written by Paul Hague and Julia Cupman of B2B International entitled "Making effective business decisions: Measuring & maximising the return on investment of market research". Links to both versions of this paper can be found below:
Marketing Strategies In The Current Economic EnvironmentWednesday, April 22nd, 2009
B2B International recently hosted an online survey for Julia Cupman on marketing strategies in the current economic environment as a part of her further studies. This unique piece of research provided insights into how marketing professionals are responding to today’s recessionary pressures. The survey yielded 396 responses from a plethora of organisations representing all industrial sectors, many b2c sectors and most geographies, and which included some of the largest corporates in the world. The research study provided rich insights on the impact of the recession and how organisations are responding to the current business environment. Four out of ten respondents said the effect of the recession has been very significant. As might be expected, national and overseas sales have been affected, investment has been cut back, plants have surplus capacity and there are cash-flow constraints. Nevertheless, around a half of organisations stated that they are optimistic about the economic outlook over the next 12 months. There is a hint that investment in marketing works, given that 58% of organisations with a higher-than-average spend on marketing were optimistic, versus only 44% with a lower-than-average marketing spend. The most common response to the current economic environment has been cutting costs, followed by organisations (re)aligning their focus from a wider offering to core products and services. 29% of respondents stated that marketing is playing a big role as a weapon to fight the recession and there is currently more emphasis on value marketing, finding new opportunities in different industry sectors and channels to market. Click here to read a full synopsis of this study. Increasing Sales In Challenging Times, part 3 of 3Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
In the final installment of this article, Julia Cupman concludes her list of points to consider when assessing new market opportunities, and reiterates that the economic downturn still presents myriad opportunities to many companies:
Market expansion may be a viable opportunity that offers a means for companies to sell more if their prospects domestically have been blackened by the economic downturn. Market entry research can cost anything from $40,000 upwards, depending on the nature of the research. This is a small cost to pay given the high return on investment. Hence, companies that cut their marketing budgets during economically challenging times are potentially closing doors to new opportunities. To find out about B2B International’s market assessment research, please click here. « Previous Entries Next Entries » |
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