Direct Marketing Superstar Joe Sugarman wants you to know there are great opportunities to be had in any era – and especially in a time of what most would call a bad economy.

And in fact, those who write direct response copy, Sugarman says, generally know before the general public when a recession is coming and, even better, when it is coming to an end.

Direct response is really a barometer of optimism. That’s because direct response is the best early indicator about what is happening in economy. Those who sell directly, such as mail order catalogs, are the first to feel the positive effects – people start buying from mail order stores before they go back to the brick-and-mortar stores.

And it is in this time that it is the most ideal to start marketing products and start advertising.

How?

• Link your product, service or expertise to the current trends. Example: During a recession (or a perception of one), people are more inclined to stay at home. For example, if people are staying at home, it makes sense that make money from home offers work better during a recession. And if people are reluctant to travel to seminars because of cost, than bring the seminars to them via webinars.

• Know their mindset. It’s not that people don’t want your product or service, it is that they are putting off buying decisions in many cases. They need an immediate reason to buy something now rather than later — show them they need the product now. For example, golf season is just beginning and it’s important you get the feel for this new driver so you can win big money off your buddies all season long.

• Use the recession to your advantage. As an example, media rates really start to drop at times like these. Drops in these prices represent amazing opportunities for direct marketers. Sugarman says much of his profit was made on the money he saved on media spending.

• Value, value, value. Build up to your offer so well and so convincingly that by the time you get to the price, your customer will see this as a mere number that is insignificant compared to the great value of your product or service.

Where are you right now in your marketing?
> Is your offer well-defined?
> Are you focusing on value over a price?
> Are you inside the mind of your customer?
> Is your solution clearly linked to something timely, current or newsworthy?

This entry was posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 4:07 am and is filed under Marketing During Recession, Marketing Philiosopy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.