Thanks to John Moore at Brand Autopsy for the alert to Neal Stewart’s YouCan’tBuyThat.com blog, and especially his post “Recession Marketing Strategies.” Both John and I particularly liked Neal’s strategy when it comes to existing customers (read clients):

"Find ways to engage in conversation with your heavy users and fanatical consumers. More than ever, your brand’s stalkers (again, read clients who could make referrals) are going to help you spread the word."

Neal’s other strategies which I also liked include:

  • Invest in good people, as they’ll figure out to get the job done even in the bad times,
  • “All hands on deck,” meaning that everyone in the organization should have a “sales mentality,” and
  • Remain consistent, since you don’t want others (clients, referral sources, vendors, or anyone for that matter) to get a whiff of panic emanating from the firm.

But, the key to remember is focusing on existing clients. John’s conclusion really says it all: “As we marketers know, it is far less expensive to market to current customers than it is to acquire new customers … especially during this dismal economy.”