Dicey Economic Times


youmakes sense on both an emotional and practical level. Therefore, if you’re not activelymarketing to your core tar-


get audience, anotherprovider of the sameproduct or service, or an entirely different type of product or service, will win their dis- posable income. Remember, in the absence of pro-activemarket- ing, consumers’ perceptions of, preference for, and desire for products or services will change naturally – very often because they simply forgot about you and something else is now top-of- mind.


4. Spend less andmake a stronger impact Even when a business is cash-strapped, there are relatively


low-costways tomarket during a down economy that take advan- tage of the less cluttered playing field and enable you to enjoy greater dividends than usual. Three soundmarketing investments that have great bang for the buck are: • Brand-centric public relations campaigns focused on reach-


ing andmoving your core target audience to action via credible thirdparty sources such as national, regional andtrademedia cov- erage. • SEO– Update your website so that it uses the latest search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.When done well, this will


dramatically increase your chances for being found by your core target audience when they do a Google or Yahoo search to find your type of product or service. • Focus on CPM(cost per 1,000). Buy the advertisement that


gets thebiggestbang for yourbuck. Spenda fewextradollars and get amuch bigger return on that investment. Smart businesspeople know what to do when it comes to


financial investing during an economic slump. They understand that when they continue to invest or buy even more when the stock market is down, they secure themselves for a stronger future. Smart businesspeople know that themarket will eventually


go back up, andwhen it does, theywill be ahead of the game. The exact same approach is true formarketing – only you’re investing in your company’s future, not someone else’s.


David Warschawski, CEO of Warschawski Inc., can be reached at david.warschawski@warschawski.com..


PT


JANUARY 2009 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com


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