Great strategies for building a customer pipeline in a challenging economic climate

In January, Hyundai Motor America launched an unprecedented advertising campaign aimed at Americans in the market for a new car, but not quite sure if they could afford one. "Buy a new Hyundai now, but if you lose your job or experience another life-changing event within a year, you can give the car back," the ads stated.

Without tacking extra charges onto the sticker price, Hyundai promised to pay the difference between the car's trade-in value at the time the owner files a claim and any remaining balance on the loan up to a maximum of $7,500. Qualified life-changing events include involuntary job loss, personal bankruptcy (if self-employed), being transferred overseas and accidental death.

Paul Facella, president and CEO at Lynbrook, NY-based marketing consultancy Inside Management Ltd. (www.insidemanagement.com), says the ads are "simply brilliant" during a time when recession-weary consumers are in need of new vehicles, but aren't sure if they can make the payments. "Hyundai is thinking out of the box on this one," says Facella. "They looked at the marketplace, figured out why their cars weren't selling and addressed the issue with a campaign that hits home."

Marketers from all industries could borrow a page from Hyundai's strategy book. "Unless they were around during the Great Depression, no company has seen this kind of economic environment," says Facella. "There isn't a business I know that hasn't been negatively impacted by it in some shape or form."

But just because disposable income and consumers' willingness to spend it has been curtailed, that doesn't mean marketers should sit back and hope their pre-recession advertising strategies will work. Instead, companies looking to emerge from the economic downturn in one piece must rethink those strategies and adjust them accordingly. Here are six proactive steps that marketers can start using right now:

Get employees involved in the cause. Rather than hiding information from them and hoping they'll stay productive and positive, engage them in the process of getting new and servicing existing clients. "Get out there and communicate with your employees," Facella suggests. "Get their ideas and use their intelligence collaboratively with your own thoughts. Tell them that sales are 'way off' for the year, and figure out way to work together to market the firm and its products/services in a more effective manner."

Offer rewards for great ideas, and incentives during months or quarters when the company hits its sales targets. "It could be as simple as a pizza and a beer for employees at the end of the day," Facella says, "but it goes a long way in keeping morale up, and engaging employees in the process."

Get out and meet your customers. Go back to the basics with face-to-face contact, all the while avoiding hard solicitations that might drive clients away during these difficult times. "In this day of text messages and emails, the company that actually gets out and meets customers in person is unique," says Facella, who sees blogs, social networking and other technology tools as effective ways to augment those in-person visits. "Get out there, visit your clients, listen to their concerns and help to solve their pain points."

Focus on your value proposition. Combine a good price with a quality product and you have a sure winner in today's economic climate. Right after the last Super Bowl, for example, Denny's gave away a free Grand Slam breakfast to everyone who visited its restaurants the following day. "It was a great way to hammer home what kind of product they were offering," says Facella, "and reintroduce their value message and affordable price point."

Stand out from the crowd. Whether it's an automaker with a can't-lose financial arrangement, a local bank expanding its weekend hours or a DRTV marketer offering upsells at no additional charge, the company that sets itself apart from its competitors is the one that will stand out in the frugal consumer's mind. "Now is the time to refocus and figure out how to differentiate your firm and its products/services in a way that resonates with your customers," says Facella.

Try something different. The year was 1991, and Kraft Foods was operating in a recession that found many consumers tightening their purse strings and avoiding luxuries like steak. As a result, sales were down for the company's A-1 Steak Sauce. To offset the drop in sales, Kraft repositioned the product as a "great topper for hamburgers." The marketing campaign went over well, and "kept the A-1 brand alive," according to Facella, who advises companies to aggressively seek out untapped markets, pursue different customer demographics and re-package product offerings to make them more appealing to the economically-challenged consumer. "This isn't business as usual," says Facella. "History has shown that when times are tough, those companies that break out of their own comfort zones are the ones that succeed."

Published in Backchannelmedia.com, May 26, 2009