Last week some of the world’s biggest tech behemoths (Apple, Sony, Research In Motion) have experienced the cold winds of change brought about by the global banking crisis that leads the greatest Wall Street meltdown witnessed in the US since 1991. The economic downturn is here, and its tentacles are spreading globally.
What do you think would be the repercussions of this economic meltdown in the search marketing business? Online marketers are more concerned over this as the holiday season will approach in less than two months. (According to recent online market trends people started earlier holiday shopping, smart move!) There is no reason for such anxieties; sure online marketing efforts will prove success in the coming days. Why? Search will prevail as a fundamental tactic to attract customers, in any time.
In the panicky global financial markets, you can count on the online market to stay afloat. The search marketing segment is fundamentally stable and has a very strong reputation; the online scene still seems hopeful, compared to the traditional advertising scene. Branding and display advertising seem to be becoming sidelined amidst economic slow down, and we expect some of those budgets to be diverted to
search engine marketing business, especially among small and midsize businesses.
More evidence can be found by the recent announcement that Google revenues rose 26% in the last quarter.
Why is Internet & Search Marketing still effective?
Think about it - when economy goes bad, companies begin to scramble to 'trim the fat' from budgets. In doing this, they begin looking at where funds are being wasted. Search marketing and almost all forms of online marketing are completely measurable. They are also still the most economical way to bring your company business in comparison to other forms of marketing which are less measurable. Gas is expensive now. Do you think people would rather drive around and look for gifts during Christmas season or search online and purchase directly?
Search engines are the new 'Yellow Pages'. If anything, companies recognize being ranked on them as the most important part of their marketing campaigns.
Four reasons why people come online to shop:
1) They want to get what they’re looking for what might not be available at their nearest retail shop.
2) Online buying is incredibly handy.
3) Unlimited shelf space to offer product ranges
4) Attraction towards perks & offers
JFK coined that in a good economy ‘the rising tide lifts all boats’. This describes the idea that when an economy is performing well, all sector will benefit from it. In a down economy, we’re all drawn into financial hiccups in some way, form or nature. Naturally all sectors will be affected, so as to speak with search marketing business segment, but less volatility is there. This is the time to be creative with your online offers and make every visitor count.
Focus on customers than market
You can absolutely survive an economic downturn, and if done right can show growth! With a focused, well developed plan to execute, we can chart our own course of action. For this, firstly, we need creativity to serve our customers and focus on them, not just the market, and that determines whether to thrive or dive. The following points will help you innovate a successful way through this financial storm.
Creative merchandising: Find innovative ways to get people to notice you.
Creative customer offers: Likely, overall, we’ll see fewer clicks with purchase-purpose. You can overcome such hurdles by offering compelling, lucrative offers.
Creative ways to channelize marketing dollars: Do your marketing optimization efforts after careful research. If you have a company performing your marketing already make sure they are credible by looking for accreditations from Google itself.
Split Test To Improve Conversions: For this,
Google Website Optimizer is the right choice. Keep running with marketing areas that fetch you more value at less cost.
Creative customer convincing feats: exude experience, trustworthiness and create urgency for the products and services that you perform.
How Google Adwords can correct itself
Suppose the worst happens. Almost all companies stop spending on paid search campaigns and a shift to organic ranking occurs. Guess what that does? It lowers the overall 'cost-per-click' for those valuable marketing spots - and hence your cost to convert. It's a win-win either way.
Yes we are clearly in an economic downturn that we have not seen in quite some time. But people still search for information online. That practice is not going to stop. Not now - not ever. By 'tightening the screws' and ensuring your offers and call to action are setup as well as they can, you may very well improve during this time! Want to know a great way to do this? Make sure to check out a recently posted article by TechWyse's own DJ Kennedy himself - How to build an Effective Sales Funnel for your Website.
on
Considering the economic times, you would think our clients want to reduce their spend. Now more than ever they are maintaining their budgets and working closely with us to maintain their conversions! What’s interesting to see is more customers are calling our clients for information rather than completing a form. Either way the PPC Ad got their attention and they are making contact!
on
Very interesting article. I think it is a good thing to have a diverse strategy to ensure you are not caught up with changes to the market or at the hands bad economic weather.
Thanks! So far search marketing scene is untouched by the negative blows of recent economic turns. According to recent stats from Comscore Media Metrix the internet audience from US itself- is 188.9 million having genuine online buying habits. Millions and beyond from rest of the world rallies behind this…..
on
During an economic slowdown, it is very tempting for businesses to reduce advertising & marketing budgets to compensate for the decreased sales. This might save money in the short run, yet it will hurt them in the long run. Because once the economy turns around, consumers will purchase products only from brands they are aware of. And it’s robust advertising that makes people aware of the brands. Thus not downsizing advertising can help improve sales even during a slowdown.
on
What you said is true!
Be innovatively creative, that could help catapult your business to incredible levels during economic recession. Do your due research on your busines to get your better share of the market pie.
on
Offline advertisers are definitely going to cut down on their ad spend as a cost cutting measure during this economic correction period. But surely they do not wish to suffer erosion in their sales. A trend is emerging where companies increasingly prefer to go in for online advertisements instead of offline advertisements. This could probably explain the surge in the profits of online giants led by Google.
on
Yes, financial crisis is here. That does not mean that you can stop telling people now. On the contrary, now it’s the time to actually tell people wherever you can.
In an age where the customer rules, the advertiser must come bearing gifts. Since the advertiser is employing omnipresent internet marketing channel to reach the user, that gift is most likely going to take the form of information.
Hayden