Recalibrating Your Marketing Dollar vs. Re-evaluating Your Marketing Strategy

The second quarter of 2011 is complete, and people are still unsure about the outlook for business in this – or any – market.

While the market seems to be bullish in terms of the stock exchanges, and most companies have made operational adjustments, it is clear that overall instability is still prevalent in our own backyards (e.g. California, Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin) and around the globe (Middle East uprisings and political unrest).

What does any of that mean in our world of integrated marketing and sales support?

Typically, during any economic downturn, marketing is one of the first things to be purged from the budget because it is either considered not that important or discretionary funding. These sentiments were alive and well during the past couple years. However, in 2011, this industry is already seeing a comeback from business owners to make a budget for marketing move from “want” to “need.”

Most companies are once again investing in marketing to drive awareness and credibility among target audiences proactively. The new marketing mix model has shifted to include less spending on traditional advertising and more focus on awareness campaigns that maximize digital marketing, an optimized Web presence and social network visibility.

Historically, it has been proven that change and hardship drives opportunity and innovation. As are result, companies of all sizes are reconsidering sales, marketing, advertising, website development and public relations strategies that will drive leads and sales.

Shouldn’t that become a strategy moving forward to stay relevant and visible in the market?

HCK2 Partners works across a broad number of vertical industries including, healthcare, financial services, energy, business services, consumer, real estate, culinary and retail. Why that many verticals? Because there is one thing all of our clients have in common – they value having a strategic partner available to them at all times versus a vendor that just responds to a hurried phone call during times of crisis.

We have many clients who have experienced great success for that reason – they want a partner, not a vendor. They understand marketing was a strategy, not a budget. Do you?