Case Study #18: Stratelysis For Marketers – Let’s Knock Out the Recession In the Second Half of 2009

In the right hand corner, weighing trillions of dollars in lost investments since 2007 and tens of millions of lost global jobs ISSSSS:

“GUNTHER ‘I OWN THE GLOBAL RECESSION’ DOOMSDAY”

And his opponent, weighing close to $800 billion in stimulus dollars and almost 9,500points on the Dow Index ISSSSS:

“RICH, ‘I PROTECT MY HOUSEHOLD INCOME’ RECESSION-ATOR’”

In the first half of 2009, Gunther Doomsday gives Rich Recession-ator a real beating in the ring. Rich can’t take a break from being knocked out month after month after month. POW – Over 700,000 unemployment claims are filed in the United States in January 2009. BAM – Dow Index close below 7,500 points in March 2009. SLAM – Consumer confidence takes a nose dive in July 2009. Today, however, Rich Recession-ator gives Gunther Doomsday a much deserved upper-cut. The cheering section of economists bearing optimistic news gives him the strength to pull this off. Both boxers return to their corners before they battle again.

Marketers, Rich Recession-ator needs our help. The economists say that 70%+ of the gross domestic product (GDP) is driven by consumer confidence. What function has a significant amount of interaction with consumers? It is the marketing function.

But, we won’t be sitting in the cheering section like the economists. We’re going to be alongside the ring. We’ll tape our boxer’s injuries with great strategy. We’ll hydrate our boxer with lasting tactics. And by December 31st, 2009, Rich Recession-ator will make sure Gunther Doomsday is down. And stays down.

Regardless of whether we are doing marketing for consumer packaged goods or an airlines company, here are some high-level “stratelytical” exercises that can be customized based on business and functional goals:

1. Join the Conference Board Consumer Research Center where you will be able to learn about the Consumer Confidence Survey® and other data points that impact your business (http://www.conference-board.org/economics/crc.cfm).

2. Overlay this information against your latest re-forecast for 2009 and 2010 and make some educated hypotheses about consumer spending for your category.

3. Depending on the quality of your customer database, survey your most profitable customers about what they predict to spend on you and your competitor’s products over the next six to twelve months, and what emotional, economic and environmental drivers are causing them to make these decisions.

4. Refine the forecast for 2009 and 2010 once results are generated from the survey. Remember, Rich Recession-ator needs to knock out Gunther Doomsday, but throwing wild punches in the air only weakens a boxer in the ring.

5. Align with the brand strategy and marketing communications team to discuss data-and-insight driven findings. Collaborate with them in updating existing touchpoints with confidence-building messages as articulated by surveyed customers.

6. Not all customers Twitter, Facebook, Digg or look at blogs. If your most profitable customer absorbs information through traditional media touchpoints, continue to use those channels, but update the messages to encourage spending on multiple need-based purchases versus expensive want-based purchases. However, if you notice a change in message absorption by your profitable customer, then re-configure the touchpoint strategy to accommodate Web 2.0 tactics.

7. Sometimes, focusing just on the most profitable customers stymies top-line revenue growth. Consider cost effectively acquiring new customers given the brand’s adaptability to new, un-tapped markets. A huge party at a major New York City club or a U2 concert isn’t ALWAYS necessary to acquire a customer – It is important to understand how target customers are engaged from a multi-touchpoint perspective. This increases the chances by which they experience the brand while reducing overall cost per acquisition. The trick is to make sure the target customers see an integrated, consistent representation of the brand at all points of brand contact.

Okay, so now the boxers are back in the ring. They do a fist bump with their gloves. Rich the Recession-ator looks squarely into the opponent’s eye and advances for his first offensive move in the beginning of the second half.