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It's a question that haunts B2B product retailers when sales are down: "How do we move this excess inventory?" Cutting prices, offering two-for-one deals, or announcing blow-out sales to regular clients may go only so far in a downturn. Well, take heart. In a recent post at What Works for Business, ... more
Let's say you sell trendy furniture for family-friendly prices. What's the best way to push product and spread brand awareness? Well, you could try developing and offering: A showroom. Pros: People see products in context, and they can buy them right then and there! Cons: You don't reach potential buyers who aren't ... more
Few companies have been spared the ravages of the recession, but some strategies seem to be working to help small businesses stay afloat. In a recent article at Inc., Elizabeth Wasserman suggests tactics that small retailers might employ to add some ho-ho-ho to the late-holiday sales season—and boost results in the ... more
Why would anyone drive a BMW or shop at Nordstrom when, for a fraction of the price, they could drive a Volkswagen or shop at JC Penney? "[P]eople make trade-offs in their spending," writes Dale Furtwengler in his book Pricing for Profit. "They'll pay as little as possible for things ... more
"Having an offer for your products or services that is truly risk-free might be just the ticket you need to really make a difference in your email marketing campaigns," says Janine Popick in a post at her Vertical Response blog. She points to retailers like these that generate customer loyalty and ... more
Free shipping offers can cost your company a bundle, but they may produce ROI that makes them worth the expenditure. As you explore your options, you will probably be interested in a whitepaper from Experian CheetahMail that examines questions like these: Are more companies deploying free-shipping emails? ... more
Want to boost search results? Try benchmarking based on the latest trends, says Performics' Michael Kahn in a Chief Marketer article. An analysis by Performics of data from more than 200 paid-search programs uncovered some important shifts this past spring within many actively managed search campaigns; they could signal the ... more
"Hoping to keep its 119 rooms filled," writes Hugo Martín at the Los Angeles Times, "Hotel Erwin on Venice Beach is offering an unusual promotion for its countercultural clientele: an Ink and Stay package that includes $100 toward a tattoo and a bottle of tequila to numb the pain." The ... more
According to Madison Riley and Brooks Kitchel of Kurt Salmon Associates, retailers often respond to sluggish sales by slashing prices and hoping to beat the competition on value. But there's a problem. "Contrary to the common practice of deep discounting in troubled times," they argue, "competing on compelling products is ... more
Everywhere we look, ever since we can remember, we see that price ending: .99. But does using this just-below-a-round-number pricing system always produce optimum results for merchants? Might other pricing options produce better results? Some researchers recently took a fresh look at pricing, and their results suggest it may be time ... more
In an article at MarketingProfs, Christian Shea challenges the conventional wisdom that those who maintain a robust marketing budget are more likely to power their company through the recession. "Massive consumer-based brands such as BMW, Dell, and Wal-Mart are so tied to marketing as part of their business strategies," he ... more
When spending must be cut, and it's just a matter of determining where, you face a process fraught with potential pitfalls. Here's some help. In a post at Harvard Business Online, Rita McGrath highlights key takeaways from a workshop on avoiding the traps that companies often encounter when trying to ... more
When you have customers scrambling to make ends meet, or cutting back on unnecessary expenditures, it might seem foolhardy to let them set prices for your product or service. But Sam Lippert of the Java Street Cafe in Kettering, Ohio, took a chance on that risky strategy. He told diners ... more
- Welcome to MarketingProfs' inaugural issue of Marketing in a Downturn. We are glad you signed on to receive these once-a-week guides to navigating rough economic seas—and safely making it through to the upturn. We will chart this course together. But if you wish to opt out, just click on the link below. ... more
In a recent post at Harvard Business Online, Scott Anthony coined the term Great Disruption to describe our current economic climate. "In the Great Depression," he reasons, "demand, output and wages declined across the board. Today's times are different. It isn't just that demand is sagging. It's that change is ... more
"Online behavior is not limited to purchasing activity alone," says Sheldon Gilbert in an article at MarketingProfs. "To truly understand someone's buying potential, you need to see more than that. You need to know what they are looking at, what they are searching for and what they have recommended to ... more
Once upon a time, when customers didn't have enough money to make an immediate purchase, they would put it on layaway. Laya-what? you ask facetiously. "Doesn't that involve some kind of a system where you pay for the merchandise BEFORE you take it home?" notes the Direct Dispatch blog. "We ... more
Sales promotions that offer either price discounts or free goods (premiums) are often used to entice customers to buy products. But which is better? Every family has one or two bargain shoppers—always looking for discounted products, and priding themselves on never paying full price. So, logically, marketers would assume that ... more
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