The ESA&Company Marketing Recovery Plan

What to do when market conditions wither?

Get your "ESA Recovery Plan" for your business. It's your first step to generate an even higher return on ad dollar investment. You'll need to compensate for fewer market opportunities in a downturn. And, the smartest thing to do in a downturn is to present your business as hungry and in search of customers. Delivering this message in a fun and friendly manner shows that you are wide open for business.

Here's some of the topics included in the Recovery Plan:

Message: Present an Irresistible Value

The consumer wants to see a message from you that can help stretch her dollar. Depending on your type of business; consider extended warranties, free car washes, free pick-up and delivery, a free book, or even a donation to a local charity with your purchase. You get the picture. The question is: what makes your company a more attractive value than your competition?

Purchasing: Offer Zero Percent or Deferred Payment

Americans are not broke. But delayed purchasing could occur when consumer income is impacted. Think about what you could offer in your marketing message to pull that buyer back to the table.

This income impact has slowed traffic in the market. On the upper income end of American consumers, these buyers have cash but don't want to take their cash out of their investments, especially in a downturned stock market. So offer zero percent financing or a deferred payment. Most business owners can include the cost of this in their pricing. Even if you've never offered this before, now is the time because it's a strong attractor of "now buyers".

Service: Create Higher Standards

Live text or video chat is being used by busy shoppers. They like that they can hold a live and mobile conversation with you. All business owners are encouraged to include this function on their website and also promote this service.

Media: Eliminate Wasted Ad Dollars

If you normally buy multiple TV stations on your ad buy, this is a good time to make sure that your ad budget currently allows such a wide buy. Approach your television station partners and ask for insight. Ask how these stations can stretch your dollar. [There are several proven OTA and OTT ESA&Company ROI models for this.] You'll find that a sacrificing some reach for a gain in frequency will impact sales with no added expense.

Support: Negotiate Smarter

Next, analyze your current cost per thousand of your media mix. Has it slowly increased as you've added media? Example; if you are still advertising with local cable TV, you could be paying 10x for a viewer versus a local TV affiliate. If you are using direct mail you may be paying 40x more than is necessary to reach a consumer. Also, OTT is much more effective versus magazine and newspaper advertising. We often see a 10%-30% improvement in revenues for business owners that make this switch. Cancelling TV ads to save money in a short downturn can cost you serious business in the long term. Think scale. Stay visible. Switching now to local broadcast television is a zero added cost way to increase revenues.

Be Open for Business: Look the Part

Market share can be bought affordably when your competition stops being aggressive. If you see that a major player goes quiet, then get louder. Blast emails to your customer list once a week and include incredible offers. Post new videos daily on all social platforms. Mirror your TV message offers in all media. Attract new customers and keep them.

In a downdraft economic cycle, taking bold action and using resources creatively can blunt some of the negative impact.

Launch your Marketing Recovery Plan right now while your competition waits and wonders. You'll be building a business that thrives for years.

ESA&Company stands ready to serve your business! A special Marketing Recovery Plan live webinar will be held soon. For your business to participate, contact: Adam Armbruster, senior partner, Eckstein, Summers, Armbruster & Co. Adam@ESAROI.com /  941-928-7192.