As you rethink your marketing strategies and get ready for the New Year, the trump card lies in CHANGE. Make 2009 a year of innovation as you trim the flab and bid farewell to 2008. Read on and Review our S.M.A.R.T. Plan.
 
No matter what industry you are in or the size of your marketing budget, there are smart ways to maximize your ROI and turn recession into an opportunity. 

  
1.  Zero in on the demand peaks: Identify your high value customers, the ones that bring the maximum revenue and profit to your business. Loyal customers may reduce their overall spending but will continue to buy your products or services despite the downturn. Reward them for their loyalty by creating offers, discount programs, loyalty miles, etc. Communicate these offers through targeted email campaigns, landing pages and members-only areas on your website.

2.  Segment your offering based on strong value proposition: Pick out the most relevant products or services in your total offering - the ones that are the closest to being consumer "necessities". Make offers like "buy one, get one free", "buy today, pay later", "no taxes in 2009", etc. to increase the sales volume for these products. This strategy can work towards bringing in new customers that are shopping for the best deal and retaining old ones that appreciate the incentive to buy in a tough economy.

3.  'Renovate' your website real estate: Unlike a home renovation which people take on in the good times, your website real estate can be renovated to move your business Up in the Down times. Start with critical areas that will make a difference - to drive targeted traffic and increase conversion.

Some quick and inexpensive ideas for website renovation:

•  Clearly address your target audience and their pain points
• Align website copy with your conversion goals
• Incentivise your offers -- give a little to get a lot!
• Clean up! Check for broken links, typos, outdated information
• Speak Up! Use audio, video, live chat, Internet phone, a site 'host' or mascot
• Get on the grapevine! Add or link to a chat or blog that will interest your customers

Do You Have a Internet Marketing Plan for 2009? 

  

This time of year business owners like you are reflecting on the successes and failures their business has experienced over the last twelve months. It is also a time when goals and objectives are being set for the coming year. A strategic internet marketing plan is a vital business function. The right plan will retain customers, attract new ones, and increase overall profitability. 

S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym for a busines plan; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based goals. It's a simple tool used by businesses to go beyond the realm of fuzzy goal-setting into an actionable plan for results.

• Specific - Triple the amount of daily visitors from Google searches
• Measurable - Use Google Analytics to track and measure
• Attainable - Do keyword research
• Relevant - Pick appropriate keywords
• Time-Based - Break down the tasks daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly
   

Want to know more?

Over the last year, the WSI Inside Edge newsletter has covered several Internet marketing fundamentals, trends, techniques and best practices such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-per-Click (PPC), Email marketing, Web Analytics, and so on. To find out more about how you can leverage any or all of these Internet marketing methodologies by including them in your marketing plan, attend our upcoming Social Media Marketing Seminar on January 29th. This could be an important meeting for your business.