Over the past couple of days I’ve been noticing that certain types of companies have not only survived the economic downturn but are actually increasing their successes. How have they done this?

Well, the main trend between the companies is that they are utilizing cutting edge technology making the lives of their customers and their employees much easier, as well as using this technology to market their products more effectively.

I like to call it the “lazy technology trend.” And I think we can all learn from it.

Lazy Technology in business

What do I mean by lazy technology?

I’m not talking about technology for people too lazy to get out of bed. What I’m talking about is technology that feeds the basic human instinct, driving us to make things faster and easier.

Man made fire so it would be easier to eat and stay warm. Man invented the wheel to transport people and goods with less effort and so on.
If you follow this “lazy instinct” through the ages to modern day life, you reach a world where technology is king and fast information is his sword. You can be either knighted or beheaded by it.

Google, one of the most successful companies of our time, has always made it priority to feed this “lazy instinct”.

Their products allow people to make simple searches of the internet, email and video chat, store information, share information, use of word processors, all available on the home page. The list of lazy products they offer is growing daily.

Another example of lazy technology would be Netflix. Originally started as a website where you pay a monthly fee to rent DVD’s by mail.

Now with the use of new technology they have made renting movies and T.V. shows instantly from your computer or TV (with the use of an inexpensive adapter, X-box, PS3 and coming this spring for the Wii) an included part of the monthly service: making Netflix so much more competitive that they’re even taking clients away from cable companies.

An interesting lazy tool for businesses using twitter is Twuffer. Twuffer allows the Twitter user to compose announcements or posts and schedule their release days, weeks, even months in advance.

Companies can use this technology to schedule tweets for upcoming campaigns, promotions, specials, contests etc.: letting twuffer do all the work for them at the appointed time.

Staying on top of technology

All modern day businesses should utilize new technologies to make their products easier to use and more accessible to customers.

Microsoft had to learn this lesson the hard way. They’re just now becoming more competitive online but for years they focused only on building software that you buy at the store. The problem is that the internet and web let people get what they need instantly.

This made it hard for Microsoft to sell their products and gave companies like Google an opening into the market.

A great way to stay on top of available technology is to watch companies similar to yours (especially direct competitors) and find out what they are using to make customers lives easier. Take those ideas and improve on them.

The funny thing is, because of our lazy instinct, technology just keeps building on itself getting infinitely faster and better. To some this is a scary thought because of the competition and uncertainty technology creates.

But I feel it gives us a chance to actually make money and reach more people.

What an exciting time to be alive and in business.

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Companies want to create good advertising but they tend to forget it is necessary to have something good to advertise to get peoples attention. I’ve seen many ads that are just the name or logo of some company and a slogan. Graphic design and copy alone can’t move products or sell services. Give your customer an excuse to buy from you with a unique promotion.

Recently a lot of advertisers have become more innovative as the slumping economy has created a need to be more aggressive with their promotions and they have come up with some great ideas.

If you buy a Hyundai Sonata you can get $1000 to trade in your car, some sort of $2000 dollar rebate and, last but not least, gas at the price of $1.49 for a whole year. Now if you haven’t ever worked for a car dealership, know this: these offers are no different than the normal rebates which have always been available (as far as out of pocket expense for the car company). It has just now been set up in a way that gets you thinking differently and attracts you to it because of your current needs. Everyone wants to get cheaper gas especially if you have a family and need to get a roomy car like a Sonata.

Chili’s new “Two for Twenty” deal is another great advertising idea. It’s a meal for two people for only 20 bucks. You could have always had two meals for twenty bucks at Chili’s if you try hard enough or walk in with a Sunday paper coupon, but Chili’s has taken the work out and given themselves a great excuse to run an ad campaign.

Make sure your company is doing this type of advertising. Just putting your name in the paper with a great ad concept will not entice your buyers to…well; buy anything from you right now.

One notable way to get ideas is through research. Look back at your old records to see which promotions worked. This gives you a starting point to be creative. A lot of times you can combine two old ideas to come up with one amazing promotion. So go ahead take some time and get creative.

Another way to come up with new innovative promotions is to test them. If you don’t have big money tied up in your business for rigorously testing your promotions, go ahead and talk to some of your clients. Ask them what types of promotions they would love to see offered, and out of those which promotions would be too hard to pass up.

Give your clients a reason to pick up the phone and call or to come in and buy. Create the need with a strong call to action!
Your customers will act.

]]> http://www.smallbusinessmarketingandadvertisinghelp.com/blog/2009/09/19/great-advertising-ideas-to-make-your-own-ads-better/feed/ 2 http://www.smallbusinessmarketingandadvertisinghelp.com/blog/2009/06/29/should-i-advertise-in-a-recession-a-time-to-gain-market-share-part-two/ http://www.smallbusinessmarketingandadvertisinghelp.com/blog/2009/06/29/should-i-advertise-in-a-recession-a-time-to-gain-market-share-part-two/#comments Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:30:23 +0000 admin http://www.smallbusinessmarketingandadvertisinghelp.com/blog/?p=75 Should I Advertise in a Recession?

(A time to gain market share!)

*PART TWO*

Last time we went over two of the basic things that focus your marketing efforts to gain the clients your competitors are no longer fighting for.
This time we will cover putting together all of the information you gathered and making good use of it.

Become more competitive

In a down economy many companies will start to spend less on advertising, creating a void for someone (you) to fill. This could be a totally new market you haven’t gone for yet, or just more of the same type of people you’ve always had. Either way these are the people with needs that you can fill.
Just remember you may not get the type of sales increase you would get in a good economy but you will replace your competitor as the trust worthy name in your field thus gaining market share for the future of your organization.
Now combine the increased market share with advertising that speaks directly to the client. Something along the lines of a “great deal” they can’t pass up and a higher level of service than they’re used to. You will start to notice a steady increase in momentum and profits which will be exactly what you need to thrive in these hard economic times. Not to mention putting you in the lead for profits when the economy turns around.

Take advantage of things your competitors have stopped doing for clients

Things to watch for are things like if your competitor has stopped doing direct mail all together (a growing trend to cut costs). That’s a good time to swoop in with an informative newsletter that has promotions for your company built in. Or even a simple business letter that tells them they are appreciated paired with some sort of promotion.

For example: “As a valued customer we are putting $$.$$ towards your next purchase.”

Many companies have retreated to the Internet because of increasing printing costs. Now I think the internet is great for marketing and needs to be utilized by all companies but these companies are forgetting the cardinal rule- Make it easy for customers to remember you, give them more ways to reach you and they will (most likely) come to you instead of going to someone else.

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