If you’re a retailer or manufacturer scrambling to figure-out how you’re going to survive, maybe even prosper in ‘09, perhaps it’s time for you to consider a complete overhaul of how you market to consumers and especially, the media channels in which you choose to invest your precious advertising dollars.

My thesis is simple. Certain facts are irrefutable. And every marketer in every business category, from consumer packaged goods, to general and specialty retailing, to fast food and casual dining, to the automotive category is compelled to throw the long ball if your goal is to not only survive, but be a player competitively.

The Thesis: Take at least 30% of all your advertising dollars, both above the line branding budgets and below the line promotional dollars and reallocate these budgets to digital channels now: Search Engine Marketing; Display advertising and Click2Mortar™ (more on this later) are the vehicles that will help you right-track your businesses in this challenging environment.

Remember Obama & Company’s digital playbook. Things turned out well for them using digital messaging platforms. They will for you, too.

Our 3 Immutable Facts - and a Business Strategy

Fact #1: 89% of consumers go to the Web first to research a product, service or just plain gather info on a particular topic of interest. Let’s reflect on this for a moment. If you’re a marketer trying to generate awareness, position your brand, drive traffic to your site or retail stores and build your business - shouldn’t you be in front of this consumer at every opportune moment presenting your brand story when your best prospect is in-market and ready to hear from you?

Fact #2: For every $1 spent online by consumers, at least $6 are spent in-store, at a physical location. And, lest we all need to be reminded, 93% of ALL TRANSACTION AND SALES occur in a retail environment, as opposed to within an e-commerce environment. This is a fact that catches every senior-level person I speak with by surprise within the marketing departments of prospective clients, especially within the e-business groups.

Fact #3: 40% of all media consumption among U.S. Adults 18+ now occurs on the Web. Say what? Yes. That’s right…and 40% of media consumption occurs on TV. 13% on Radio. 3.5% respectively with Newspaper and Magazine consumption. That’s an astounding shift in consumer media consumption that needs to be noted and memorized by every marketer/CEO/CMO/CFO/Brand Manager that has straight line or dotted line responsibility for how ad dollars get allocated. Then after memorizing this fact…it’s time to re-cast, re-set and revise your marketing strategies if you mean to help your company prosper now and into the future.

Actionable Strategy = Cross Channel Marketing

We’ve taken the above Immutable Facts and developed a business solution which we have been using with our clients for several years now, which we’ve branded as Click2Mortar™ Media. Acknowledging the aforementioned 80%/93%/40% precepts – we have perfected a digital media-driven solution that allows our current (and prospective) advertising clients to reach their ‘best prospects’ on the Web via Search, Display and Social Media channels that accountably drives those prospects to a retail location, rather than an e-commerce site.

It works like this. During all of our Web ad campaigns, and on a post-analysis basis, we mine both the media datasets AND the transactional/sales data at our clients’ retail locations and measure the impact online advertising has had on retail sales volumes, store by store, market by market, state by state. While we call this Click2Mortar, some call it Cross Channel Marketing, others call it Closing the Last Mile or The Holy Grail. It’s a ridiculously logical and sound premise, I know, but you’d be shocked at how few marketers put this sound business planning model into their advertising and media models.

Like the rest of us at Oldtimers, Larry Joseloff, VP, Content at Shop.org, has had a front-row seat for the digi-revolution and has noticed a distinct (but still subtle) interest among Shop.org members to create cogent cross channel marketing strategies that leverage all advertising and sales channels. “Being at the NRF Annual event in New York this week was a very enlightening experience. It seems that in good times more traditional retailers were not as willing to embrace the Web and all it can do both as a direct sales channel and to drive store traffic. However, in a recession everyone is desperate for opportunities and growth and some retailers who have not embraced the web before are giving it a second and much closer look. Our executive director Scott Silverman wrote an interesting blog on investing in eCommerce during a recession - http://blog.shop.org/2009/01/13/investing-in-e-commerce-in-2009/ .”

So, our New Year’s Resolution for everyone involved in developing your company’s advertising plan is to hit the re-set button as fast as you can. Immediately re-allocate 30% of all available media dollars and deploy smart digital media campaigns. Make sure that you’re helping to accountably drive your best prospects to a retail location near them – where 93% of your transactions take place.

Posted with permission of the Oldtimers Foundation
http://www.internetoldtimersfoundation.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=57