Strategies for Tough Economic Times: The right marketing and sales messages for today’s customers

There’s no absence of words to live by. They range from advice—“On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key”—to deviously practical observations—“By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.”

Sales and marketing professionals doing battle in an economic environment where buyers are bedeviled by financial pressures, can benefit from words to work by. Here are eight words that send the right message to today’s customers:

1. Security—Everyone wants to avoid unnecessary risk. Today, even seemingly small mistakes can lead to unemployment. The most common question from buyers is, “What are the implications if I make this buying decision?” From the get-go, work on helping customers understand why it’s safe to buy your product or service.

2. Agility—In Blown to Bits, the authors pointed out a lack of “legacy systems, legacy assets and a legacy mindset” gives companies the advantage in today’s marketplace. Contrary to how it may seem, two of the most agile industries are real estate and restaurants. Rather than stand by and hope for the best, both responded quickly and creatively to the economic slow down.

Instead of trying to talk consumers into changing their thinking about the housing situation, real estate companies changed their advertising almost instantly. In print and on the Internet, ads featured much lower-priced homes in many communities. So, too, from fast foods to fine dining, restaurants began advertising interesting menus at lower prices. They created buzz by bringing consumers something new and different without discounting.

The best strategy is to move quickly and survive—not wait and die.

3. Productivity—“In the coming era,” writes Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick at Wired magazine, “doing the exactly right next thing is far more fruitful than doing the same thing twice,” which may be the only definition of productivity that really makes sense today.