In Tough Times - Branding or Sales Promotion?

Tough question. And the tough answer is: you need to do both. During tough economic times there is lots of pressure on marketers to dump their branding programs and focus exclusively on short term promotion. Go "on sale." Well, there's nothing wrong with being on sale as long as it's not a steady diet. When consumers have a heightened interest in value (as they do right now), you had better be in a position to deliver superior value. Bear in mind that in tough times (as they are right now) your competitors have dialed up their value messages. So, like it or not, you probably need more emphasis on sales promotions and incentives (not necessarily discounts) than you did when times were flush.

But this isn't the time to abandon branding. A strong brand is part of the value equation for the customer. It is the promise of benefit that the brand can deliver - and that's especially important in maximizing your sales price at times like this.

The thing is: you can do both. Promotions don't have to be focused solely on discounts. Find communications platforms that convey the brand promise while delivering superior value. And think creatively about how to enhance the value of your brand - without deep discounts. Sure, it's easy to run a sale. But deep discounts and constant promotions are often the slippery slope to what can become an addiction. And there aren't a lot of methadone programs out there for addicted brands.

Back to Sanity

After sitting on the cyber-sidelines, economic conditions in the world have finally convinced me to start a blog. The idea here is simple. Long term value can only be based on free market transactions where sellers and buyers both benefit from the exchange. For too long, we've seen a house of cards in which funny money, funny transactions, and funny accounting created the illusion of value. It's time to get back to basics ... and back to a sustainable reality. Let's hear it for sanity!