Advertising During the Recession
It is no secret that the economy is not what it was a few years ago. Money is getting tighter for everyone these days, and we are all trying to tighten our belts. Because everyone is trying to save more and spend less, many businesses feel that this is the time to watch their spending as well. While this may be a sound idea, a significant percentage of businesses are cutting their spending by cutting their advertising.
Recessions are not the time to miss out on advertising and marketing opportunities. Research has shown that businesses who continue to advertise during recessions earn more profits than their competitors who do choose to discontinue some of their advertisements. By advertising your product or service, you continue to remain in your customers? minds; when they need your product, they will remember you rather than your competition that does not use their resources to market themselves. By continuing to advertise your product, you offer both long-standing and potential customers a reassurance in your business that your competitors are not.
Should you still decide that cutting your advertising expenses is a good move for your business, you may consider cutting the size of your advertisement rather than the frequency. If you have been using 30-second television ads, you could shorten them to 15-second ads that recur with the same consistency. You may also consider using more radio advertisements or even direct marketing strategies.
While recessions are not the time to stop advertising, they are a good time to change strategies. As times get tougher, people tend to be more family and community oriented; they are turning to sources of comfort and reassurance. Your advertisements may garner more interest if they move away from images of adventure, strong individualism, or extreme scenes. Research suggests that consumers will respond more to ads that appeal to their family values.
The Importance of Copy in B2B
If you are attempting to interact with the outside world, especially if you are doing so in the name of your company, then you need to make sure that you are doing so in a way that reflects well both on yourself and your company. This means more than having a good phone demeanor or interpersonal skills. It also extends to all copy that represents your business. If you have a website, brochures, pamphlets, a newsletter (either on paper or in email format), and even a letterhead or fax cover, you want to make sure that you are presenting your company in a professional and proficient light.
To begin with, make sure that all information stated is correct. Misprints and typos happen, but that makes it acceptable for you to have a phone number listed in correctly or a typo in the title of your website. Furthermore, some innocent mistakes can come back and haunt you- a missing or incorrect address might cost you business, while leaving out a license number could result in a lawsuit, depending on your line of business. Next, make sure that you are being very clear in your communication. When in doubt, default to simplicity. Short, concise sentences that make their point and then end can be understood by everyone, and will prevent unpleasant misunderstandings, or worse- a failure to engage.
One way to ensure that everything that goes out in the world (newsletters, articles, brochures, etc) is grammatically correct and contains accurate information is to have someone other than the writer read over the copy and make corrections. It isn't necessary that this person be an editor by profession, they simply need to be proficient enough in the editing process to catch these mistakes.
Reliable Lightning and Grounding Protection
Six months ago our factory was hit by a powerful electrical storm and we found out all too late that our lightning protection system was outdated and ineffective. The building was hit by lightening twice and the second hit took two of our digital monitoring systems out. After this expensive lesson we decided to call Alltec Corporation located in Canton, North Carolina. Alltec came highly recommended by one of our suppliers, who had them install a complete surge protection system in their plant six months earlier.
During our search for solutions for future possible lightning strikes we found that Alltec has a complete grounding system design team. And once they design the lightning protection system tailored for your specific needs, they also manufacture and assemble the components in their state of the art headquarters in Canton, NC. This gave us added confidence that we would be provided with a grounding and lightning protection system with all aspects of our individual needs met.
Another element of Alltec?s services is honesty. They made it very clear that a lightning protection system won?t completely eliminate the possibility of a strike. However, their equipment and installation will provide a safer path to ground during a strike.
Alltec uses as variety of equipment that bases its effectiveness on an overall dissipation premise. These systems include the components of terminals, cables, and various configurations of grounding rods, that when combined, are extremely effective in rerouting the damaging electrical currents away from structures and electrical equipment protecting from catastrophic damage.
Alltec (www.allteccorp.com) installed the lightning protection, grounding system and surge suppression equipment that will ensure our sensitive digital equipment will be safer from future lightning and power surge events.
Last week, as another storm rolled in with lightning flashing all around us ? operations continued without one second of interrupted power or equipment failure. We have recommended the Alltec team to several of our vendors ? and will continue to do so in the future.