Some say we are in a recession. Others say we haven’t had any negative growth yet through the 2nd quarter of 2008 and you need 2 consecutive quarters of negative GDP for a textbook recession. The financial and credit markets are predictors of the future and they are telling us that, any way you want to measure it, 2009 will be a year of recession

Does this mean to go and hideout in a bunker until the weather clears? If you do, this will be a mistake which you will regret for a very long time. Tough times call for action, not passivity. It calls for greater precision and targeting for the most efficient and ROI-driven strategies to maintain and improve your sales and profits. Yes, I said improve … even in a recession.

The following from Emarketer was just released showing the estimates of online advertising spending growth:

The doom and gloom crowd don’t believe these numbers and therefore won’t share them with you as we are here. However, according to a June McKinsey & Co. survey of 340 senior marketing executives worldwide, 91% are using online advertising, and over one-half indicate that their companies plan to maintain or exceed current levels where possible. Even more telling, 55% of marketers said they’re cutting expenditures on traditional media, precisely in order to increase funding for online efforts.

Why is this? Why do marketing experts believe that shifting precious marketing dollars online and taking away from the traditional media is the way to go? It all comes down to results.

Here are the key reasons for the phenomenon:

1. The buyer is finding your website as a result of their personal initiative; all at a time and place of their choosing. Traditional media reach less than .05% of their target market at enormous cost; this is the quintessential example of inefficiency and waste and cannot be tolerated by all those on a tight marketing budget.
2. The web is, more than anything else, an instrument of measurement. Therefore it is vastly more measurable and accountable than traditional methods.
3. The web is clearly more targeted and provides us much granularity as the buyer or the seller desires. The information is all there and always available.
4. The web is just simply gaining viewer time. Traditional media commercials are ignored or “fast-forwarded” using new technology. When online, viewers are in buyer mode when searching for a product or service; they have the confidence that the web / Google et al will lead them to the right information and the right purchase.
5. Traditional media provide you only the information they want you to know in the time or space they are allowed. The web provides no barrier; buyers can check out products, prices, terms and conditions. They can use the social media and other supportive tools to gain the confidence and peace of mind they need before making a buying decision.

So here is what you need to do to overcome the challenge of recession:

1. Improve your Internet Marketing Strategy. This includes many factors:

a. Hire an Internet Marketing Company
b. Generate a game plan to generate targeted traffic through SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Sponsored Search or PPC (Pay per Click).
c. Make a major commitment to content with the company you select. Content is life-blood of quality SEO results.
d. Improve your website to optimize conversions as well. The right SEO Company will actually include this service as an integral part of Search Engine Marketing and Website Design.

2. Start e-publishing a monthly newsletter for your existing clientèle. Keep your name in front of your customers and new prospects that sign up through the sign-up on your website.

3. Consider Affiliate Marketing - depending on your business, you can take advantage of thousands of online sales agents that only earn a commission after the sale is made or the lead is generated … a true meritocracy.

Do all of these things and more and you will be found by precisely those people who are seeking your products and services.

Love life, not just the weekends. You only have one life, Live It! @ www.NicciAndLee.com

There is a story of a black door, a young man and a Persian general.

The young man, it is said, was a prisoner of war, and the general was a very fair man. When the day arrived to decide the fate of the prisoner, the general had him brought before him. The young man was certain of death, but the general generously gave him two choices. On the young man’s left was a firing squad, guns poised ready. On the right was a plain white wall with a large black door in the middle of it. The young man was given leave to determine his fate, the firing squad or the black door.

The young man made his choice and in a short while a volley of shots rang out and the prisoner crumpled to the ground. The general shook his head and commented to his aide that in all his years he had seen only a few men choose the black door. May I ask, sir, the aide queried … what lies beyond the black door? Freedom, the general replied. The black door leads to freedom, but I have seen only a few men choose it because they are afraid of what horrors may lie beyond. Most would rather choose a fate that they know, even if it means death, than experience the unknown. The man brave enough to choose the black door deserves to be free.

Today, in the world of business, change is constant, and those afraid to experience change are in a precarious position. Trends in business are changing, and business and career choices once thought to be safe and stable are no longer so. The advice our parents gave us – to go to university, get a good education and get a good job with a company who would take care of us for the rest of out lives – is no longer true. Company restructuring, downsizing and retrenchments have caused abrupt changes inadequate to take care of a family’s needs. And yet, there are choices to be made, and those brave enough to make them will survive the economic crunch.

Are you ready to choose the Black Door?