Blog: Work

1. Step into your customer’s shoes and take a walk. Start in the parking lot. How does your business look? Is it clean? Are there dead plants hanging around? Are the windows or building dirty? Are there too many signs in the window? You be the judge – and be a tough judge at that!

2. Ask yourself: Would you shop in your store or business?

3. Call your business – customers do. On hold? Is what you’re listening to pleasant? Are you sending a message that’s a reflection of you and your business? There’s nothing like holding to boring, badly written and produced messages or awful music.

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When customers are ready to buy, most will turn to brands, stores and services that are top of mind (TOM). I challenge you, right now, to think about an upcoming purchase.
Where will you buy it? When was the last time you saw or heard an advertising message about this business? I bet it was not so long ago.
What does this tell you? It should reinforce the importance of marketing, even in slow times. Send messages that speak to your product or service, messages you can deliver on when customers walk through your door.
Remember, advertising gets people in the door but what happens once they’re there will determine their buying decision, what they will tell others, and if they will return.

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When the economy is less than healthy, businesses try to find ways to cut back and save money. You get an A+ if you are reviewing every inch of your business to make sure it’s operating efficiently. I’ll give you an F if you have, or are considering cutting your marketing budget. DON’T DO IT!

There’s a ton of solid research out there that proves that those companies that continue to market during slow times will prevail over those that cut back. It doesn’t matter what year the research is pulled from, the results are always the same. Those that continue to advertise maintain their market share and brand awareness. Those that don’t are lost and forgotten, even when the market rebounds.

Cutting back, then attempting to regain ground at an upswing is a risky way to do business. It’s kind of like starting the race an hour after the last runner has gone by – you’ll never catch up!

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Note: This is the first in a series of articles about the value of customer service and marketing in slow times.

Long before my advertising career began, I had a job in retail. Many people look at retail jobs as low paying, demeaning and what you might be reduced to do if you ever lost your "great" job. I, on the other hand, found my retail experience to be rewarding in oh-so-many ways. It was what led to my success in an advertising career, I’m sure of it. My retail days also offered me what most colleges could not, a multi-educational study in math, human behavior and manners.

My retail math education taught me how to run a cash register, make change and count it back to a customer (without a receipt showing me how much to give back). I learned to tally and order merchandise, take inventory and set prices. I also gained an understanding of supply and demand, profit and loss and living within my means.

My human-behavior education taught me to:

• Find out why customers picked my store;
• Focus on the products they wanted;
• Decide how much they would pay for an item; and
• Discover ways to keep them coming back for more.

Many times, I would go to the mall to observe shoppers and see which bags they carried. I asked myself, "Why were they shopping at those particular stores"

My manners education started long before my retail education (thanks mom and dad), and that’s a good thing. Manners go along way in this world. I have worked for some very tough bosses and have had to deal with even tougher customers. I once had a boss who lived by an old saying, for which he added a slight spin: "The customer is always right. NOT! But they are here and they are to be treated right. When that happens, everybody wins."

For the most part he was correct.

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What does your advertising tell your customers and prospective customers? A recent study by Ad-ology found that "Advertising appears to play a key role in consumers’ view of how a business is doing, and by not advertising, businesses may be sending a warning signal to current and potential customers."

More than 48% of U.S. adults believe that a lack of advertising by a retail store, bank or auto dealership during a recession indicates the business must be struggling. Likewise, a vast majority perceives businesses that continue to advertise as being competitive or committed to doing business.

"It is critical to advertise in the current economic climate, to maintain long-term positive consumer perception of your brand," said C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research. "Advertising not only assures consumers of a business’ reliability in a soft economy, but it can influence where and what they buy, especially when the ads address concerns about value."

Other key findings:
- 40% of consumers use coupons more now than a year ago
- Most consumers are as willing or more willing to pay more for ‘healthy’ or ‘organic’ products than they were a year ago
- A ‘deeply discounted price’ was the number-one factor that would make consumers more likely to purchase a big-ticket item (+$1,000)
- TV, newspaper, direct mail, and Internet top local media from which consumers saw/heard an ad within the last 30 days that led them to take action
- Store Web sites ranked second only to search engines as the way consumers research products and shop online

Source: Ad-ology research study, "Advertising’s Impact in a Soft Economy," which analyzes consumer perception about businesses that continue to advertise, and those that do not, in the current economy.

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