How Best to Communicate in a Down Economy

Google “cutting back marketing expenses” and you’ll find a lot of advice relative to the current economic slump, recession, downturn – whatever the heck they’re calling it this week. Some people are hanging onto Marketing 101 theory, supported by valid statistics, that say a down economy is the best time to invest in marketing, because your competitors are likely cutting theirs – you get more bang for your buck, gain more market share, have greater brand appeal / differentiation, and so on.

I’ve sometimes heard it referred to as “establishing a beachhead.” In the world of marketing communications, longer-term communications would likely include advertising, branding/image, marketing campaigns, public relations, website re-design, literature redesign, and the like.

However, some advisers say you should temporarily cut back as you do with other longer-term investments, prioritizing things that have a more direct and immediate effect on short-term return. Shorter-term, perhaps more aptly called "business communications" could include direct-mail, email, trade shows, web updating/blogging.

Presentations address both long and short-term communications in a highly-effective and cost-effective manner, here’s how:

Presentations direct the right information about your products and services to the right audience It is a whole lot easier to “tweak” a presentation for different audiences – for different markets, different departments of a customer, etc.	Quick Links to Info: overview of services presentation - samples experience - vitae contact me
Presentations, if designed well, are one of the most efficient methods of communication Cutting to the chase where needed, detailed where needed, simplifying and illustrating complex points, while still carrying your marketing and branding image. It’s the “designed-well” part that some people don’t fully get, but don’t worry – I can help you there!
Presentations can be “multi-purposed” for a wide range of applications Projected to an audience, shown to a few people gathered around a laptop, displayed on-screen for an on-line meeting, printed and handed out around a conference table, looping on a plasma monitor at a trade show, uploaded to a website for customers to view or print, converted to a PDF file and emailed, copied to a CD or flash drive and handed out at a conference…. All for the price of developing ONE presentation.
Presentations can be individualized for direct-selling This is where presentations really shine in that short-term impact. Maybe you cut back temporarily on the things that appeal to the general market, but this is communicating on the front lines – to the customer who is deciding between you and your competitor. It’s a powerful and cost-effective tool to put in the hands of your sales people!
Presentations are the most user-friendly method of communicating Anyone with a very basic understanding of computing can change text, copy and paste slides from one presentation to another, add slides, even add pictures and graphs. I always design presentations with this in mind, using consistent layouts, templates, text sizes, etc.
Going out on a limb... I would go further to suggest that presentation, when executed correctly, represents the most intimate and personal form of business communication. It should be individualized for each customer, created to respect each customer's strongest interests, and designed to show a specific understanding of the customer's problems and how you are set up to solve those individual problems - no ad, brochure, or website can do this!

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I know there's a lot more here than you'll ever need to see or read

To make your experience quick and easy, I would suggest going through the four areas of the site in order. But think of it as an antique shop - look at what you want, pass over the other stuff, if you've got questions, I'm here to help.

	explains my business	Hey, what's with the trumpet? Throughout history, the trumpet has been the instrument of choice for getting attention. But it's also extremely versatile - from loud to sweet, from classical to jazz to rock. Like a good presentation, in the right hands it can be quite persuasive.
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Thanks for stopping by! Jon

TrumpetTube Check back from time to time - I'll embed a really good trumpet performance from YouTube. This one features Arturo Sandoval, Chuck Findley, Randy Brecker, and Byron Stripling, playing "Cherokee" at breakneck speed.