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No doubt the recession has changed most people’s consumption attitudes, creating an alteration of worldwide consumerism as we previously knew it. Today’s consumers have adopted the mantra of it’s “nifty to be thrifty,” looking for cost-effective product and service options and frequently switching to different brands and product categories.

Subsequently, there is a rising uncertainty among us as business leaders and marketers. Smart marketers realize that despite the pressure of strapped budgets, the same research that provides insight about customer and market trends pays dividends in the long-term.

Here are five ways your company can conduct cost-effective marketing research.

1. Utilize digital tools

Online research is a great, inexpensive way to tap into your marketplace. There are resources that enable you to create tailored surveys in minutes that can produce both quantitative and qualitative research. Just remember it’s not what you ask, but how you ask it. Social media marketing tools like Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs are other low-cost ways to gauge your customer base. Barry Judge, CMO of Best Buy, provides an excellent example of how the popular retailer is engaging and interacting with its core customer audiences via Judge’s blog.

2. Focus on core customers

National studies consistently prove that it costs more to get a new customer than to keep an existing one. In a recession, it’s imperative to have a clear understanding of your current customers. In good economic times, you have the ability to spend research money on secondary customers and prospects. Start with your core and branch out from there.

3. Collaborate with a valued research/agency partner

Another way to trim costs is to collaborate with trusted research suppliers where you can maximize your resources and obtain more insight and data. If partnering with a marketing agency, consider one that conducts its own market and consumer research and that may have long-established relationships with specialized research firms.

4. Avoid slashing all research budgets

It’s now more important than ever to use market research to ensure your brand and marketing messages resonate with your core customers. You’re spending money to reach your customers, so testing messages will prove more profitable then wasting money on ineffective messaging. Just as important as knowing where you may be able to shed some research costs (i.e. potential customers), it’s important to know where not to cut.

5. Look to the future

Consumer trends aren’t stationary, so it’s important to allocate some money to predicting future consumer and market trends. What will the future of new product development and services look like, and how can your brand adequately adapt to changes in the marketplace?

If research is conducted in a cost-effective and sound way now, when the recession passes, your brand will be finely positioned for the upturn.

Are You Ready for 2010? How to Assess Your Marketing for the Coming Year

I presented two topics at the 2009 Southern Building Show & Conference – “Marketing in a ‘Low’ Time” and “Eco-Friendly Building Trends.” Like other tradeshows this year including the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show and the International Builders’ Show, the turnout was somewhat bleak, but the tone was conservatively optimistic.

Regardless of the past few tumultuous years in our beloved home and building industry, there is hope on the horizon. No matter how bad things may seem right now, they will eventually turn around — just as they always do.

As marketers and business leaders operating at a little more than halfway through the year, now is the time to look to 2010 and prepare for a rebound.

Do you have a plan for when the economy and industry improves? Have you determined the areas of marketing for which you will reap the highest return on your investment in the coming year?

Think. Plan. Consider.

1. Think about which marketing activities you need to maintain and possibly increase.
2. Plan new marketing strategies to reap the greatest benefit when conditions begin to improve.
3. Conisder the changing media landscape and traditional marketing channels’ effectiveness on your brand’s overall marketing objectives

With the decline of print and the overwhelming popularity of social media, media channel effectiveness has experienced a dramatic shift — away from television, radio and magazines to word-of-mouth/guerilla marketing. What’s more, customer service, experience and satisfaction have reached new heights of business and marketing importance as customers now have the ability to directly communicate with brands due in large part to the ever-increasing popularity of user-generated content.

Only time will tell if conditions will drastically improve for your company in the year ahead. But despite your valid concerns, it’s no secret that preparing for 2010 is key to your brand’s short- and long-term growth and success.

Diligently assess your marketing return on investment. Have a strategic plan. Implement it. And prepare yourself for a rebound.

If you’re interested in free downloads of my Southern Building Conference’s presentations you can email me at sk@kleberandassociates.com.

What Building a Campaign Really Takes

It’s no secret that the advent and ever-increasing popularity of social media has changed the way the world communicates and — most importantly for you — has changed the way brands communicate with their customer audiences.

As marketers, it can be frightening sometimes to embrace the changes to the “traditional” model of communication. We’re constantly evaluating social media’s value and benefits to our brand, its marketing return on investment and wondering how to justify expenses to cover marketing costs.

Although valid in your concerns, there is no doubt that social media has forever changed the way we as individuals, brands and consumers “talk” to each other . . . and it’s not going anywhere.

Take a look at these key elements to building a successful social media campaign for your organization.

1. Set firm objectives
First things first — identify what you want to get out of your social media program. Just like when embarking on any marketing initiative, you need to define its goals — are you seeking to increase brand awareness, manage your company’s reputation, promote new products or generate qualified leads?

2. Listen and learn
Let’s be honest, it’s a crowded marketplace out there. The freedom of user-generated information has led to a chaotic, hard-to-reach market. Do your research before creating a strategic approach to your social media program. Monitor trends and breaking news in your industry, evaluate competitors, find out what customers are saying about your brand and explore the platforms they use.

3. Put a strategy in place
Armed with goals and research, it’s now time to start talking. Let your organization’s communications professionals take care of social media, or partner with an integrated marketing agency that knows the ins and outs of it. The biggest barrier for social media marketing isn’t cost, but the ability to dedicate time and resources.

PRSA CEO Michael Cherenson said in a recent blog post, “Technology is certainly a powerful tool for building relationships, but people and basic communication skills still come first.” Social media is about the people using it – your important audiences and customers who will make a difference in your bottom line.

4. Measure and Analyze
Now that you’ve implemented a social media program, measure your results and return on investment. The good news is that social media isn’t about numbers or impressions. What it comes down to is your engagement and interaction with audiences.

Go back to your objectives. Have you increased brand awareness? Generated qualified leads? Your answers will provide a benchmark for future social media initiatives.

Whether due to advances in technology and innovation, or in part because of changes in consumerism, the “traditional” structure of communication has been altered. We now have the ability to directly communicate with our core customers. Communication is getting back to its roots – connecting people and ideas.