Trends for 2009: #20. Growth Areas - You can't do without them!

There are some parts of our economy that will continue to grow - regardless of the economic blahs we're faced with in 2009. In fact, they might grow in spite of the blahs, or even because of them.

People don't have a choice in consuming some of these things, and these are also things that Governments will throw money into in 2009 to help prop up the sagging economy. Those things are:

• Health Care. This is a really broad market. People want to get & stay healthy - so there is a lot of opportunity in things that will help them achieve that, ranging from running shoes to the Wii Fit. People also end up in Hospitals. So - anything serving this market will do well.
  
• Education. When the economy fades people need to reinvent themselves. Enrollment at MBA schools is a good economic indicator in that sense. So - anything that provides educational services will probably do will.
  
• Government. Governments spend their way out of economic downturns. So - responding to Government RFPs is a great hobby during a recession.

What is a Marketer to do in 2009? Strategies to follow include:

• Develop products and services that have health benefits.
• Develop products and services that have educational benefits.
• Figure out where to look for Government RFPs and watch for opportunities.

Will I be right? The year will tell!

• Follow this blog and watch for the next marketing trends I'm forecasting for 2009.
• Feel free to contact Market GoGo to discuss this further.

What is Market GoGo?

Market GoGo is a specialized Marketing Consultancy, based in Calgary. Market GoGo focuses on a few things that will help you to make your company more successful. Those things are strategic in nature, and focus on things that many companies just don't have the experience or the depth to do. Those things are:

• Brand Audit: A review of the "personality" of your company or a particular "brand" your company represents. It covers a wide swath of customer interactions and experiences with your brand from brand standards (signage, lettering, colors, etc.), to advertising, to customer service representatives, to your website, to your positioning statement, and so on. The goal of a Brand Audit is to help you understand your brand's assets and customer perceptions and subsequently to make decision and changes that will ultimately help you to drive more sales.
• Web Marketing and Advertising strategies: Web Marketing is all about doing five things as part of your Web Portfolio: Get prospective customers to your website, Convert prospects to customers, Up-sell and cross-sell to customers, Provide online service to customers, and Get customers to come back to buy from you again. This portfolio runs the gamut from bidding on Google text ads, to banner ads served by Advertising Networks, to mapping the web sales process flow, to researching customer behaviour on your website through analytics and customer research, to opt-in email marketing, and on, and on, and on!
• Project Management of your Strategic Marketing Projects: Marketing Project Management ensures that projects are delivered on-time and on-scope by the "delivery partner" (e.g. an IT Development Team or a Product Development Team). The Marketing Project Plan also ensures that the Marketing specific tasks - such as Communication and Advertising - are put in place at the right time.
• RFP Response for your B2B opportunity: Writing an RFP response is an arduous task. It is also one that you may not get to do enough, and consequently you aren't practiced in crafting a great response that will catch the attention of the team that both crafted the RFP and will review your response. Your response should get you noticed, and get you to the "next step" in the negotiating process.
• Aligning your Contact Center's Behavior with your brand: Most Contact Centers or Call Centers focus on technologies and practices that will drive cost-cutting through their business. For example, the use of Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems has been lauded by the Call Center industry as a great way to cut costs. But just find a customer who REALLY likes dealing with an IVR. Wouldn't you like your Call Centre's behavior and technology to provide the appropriate brand experience that your customers expect? That's the goal of Market GoGo's Contact Centre Strategy Approach.

Contact Market GoGo to find out more about how we can help you with your Branding and Marketing.

Trends for 2009: #9. RFP Responses will be critical

There's a lot of Government money lining up to be spent in 2009. The buzz word for the year may well be "Infrastructure". If you are in a position to deliver products or services through some of these programs, then you will probably need to craft great RFP responses to get noticed to help do the work.

Of course, RFP Responses only impacts a small sub-set of the Marketing World - that is, Marketing and Sales folks who work in the B2B (or the B2G) space.

What's a B2B / B2G Marketer to do in 2009?

• Sharpen your pencil and fill up your printer with new toner and good quality printing stock
• Get to know the purchasing people in Government offices at all levels, and get on their RFP lists
  
• Search long and hard for RFPs that suit your business
• Fully understand each RFP and what problem it really seeks to solve
• Create a compelling RFP response that clearly shows the client you understand their problem, and clearly tells the story of how you will help them resolve that problem.
  

Will I be right? The year will tell!

• Follow this blog and watch for the next marketing trends I'm forecasting for 2009.
• Feel free to contact Market GoGo to discuss this further.