Back to main site

Wednesday 12 January 2011

2011 – Finding those elusive business opportunities in 2011 through Marketing.

2011, according to many financial pundits, still holds a lot of uncertainty for the business and financial world. The UK economy is certainly not out of the woods yet, despite some encouraging recent statistics from www.riskdisk.com about 2010, including:

  • CCJs were down 26%;
  • Administration orders were down 34%;
  • Winding-up petitions were down 21%;
  • Liquidations were down 9%;
  • Receiverships were down 35%;
  • Dissolutions were down 33%.

Most SME’s may feel distinctly uneasy about the poor trading conditions, significant cuts to public sector spending and difficulties in accessing the necessary finance to trade effectively. Many commentators have spoken of the ‘structural’ nature of this recession, compared to previous cyclical recessions. This means that the business environment will be a significantly different place in three to five years.

Yet, where there is significant change, there are always opportunities.

Organisations identifying and capitalising on these opportunities will create wealth and enjoy success.

From a marketing perspective, FIVE FACTORS will strongly influence an organisations future success:

  • AN EFFECTIVE MARKETING FUNCTION IS KEY: Marketing can be defined as ‘Identifying and satisfying customer needs profitably’. This has never been so crucial for organisations and businesses as it is today. The companies that have a strong, effective marketing function, in this context, are likely to be the winners coming out of the recession.
  • KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING: An organisation requires a clear marketing strategy with ROI measured and achieved. If you don’t know where you are going, it is highly unlikely you will go anywhere.
  • MEASURE AND INTERPRET: the latest digital marketing communication tools have the ability to measure response, especially when compared to traditional marketing techniques. However, remember, there are ’lies, damned lies and statistics’. There are significantly more young people going to University and attaining degrees today than there were twenty five years ago. But it does not mean that as a society, we are collectively more intelligent? Getting feedback from campaigns is important. Interpreting this data correctly and responding effectively is critical.
  • COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY: Choose your communications tools because of their effectiveness, not necessarily because they are the latest technology. Tried and tested can often prove more useful than ‘new with huge potential’ – especially when budgets are tight.
  • ADD VALUE: Learn what your customers value the most and supply it to them. This will differentiate yourself from your competitors, improve margins and provide you with your USP.