Take Confidence in Blizzard Internet during Economic Uncertainty
Stephanie Hedberg | 29 October 2008 | 19 Reviews »
Anyone who’s watched the news lately has probably come away feeling a bit depressed about our current economic state. I’m a planner. I hate not knowing what’s going to happen and how to prepare; this is exactly why I’m addressing the issue. I realized many of our trusted clients and partners have most likely had these same concerns and are wondering what this means for their online business. Here at Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc. we feel ignoring the challenges at hand accomplishes nothing. We value your business and hope to relay a message of encouragement, support, and most importantly, trust.
Let’s start off with some good news. For eleven years Blizzard Internet has brought clients successful online marketing campaigns. We’ve been through it all. From the burst of the dot com bubble, to Google surpassing Microsoft as “the most valuable global brand”. We’ve gone through the ups and downs of Internet marketing before and have always managed to come out on top. Through the years, we’ve gained knowledge and perfected our products. We know what works and what doesn’t work and realize your success is dependant upon our success. We currently have over fifty in-house employees and have a team of experts specifically dedicated to innovation and adapting products to economic trends. To be successful within the travel industry our experts have always felt strong about one thing, with or without the effect of a struggling economy, you cannot neglect your website. In fact, we are currently in the process of redesigning our own company website, as well as, beefing up our search engine optimization. If anything, we feel it’s more important now than ever.
In a survey conducted by MarketingProfs on how the economy is affecting marketing decisions it stated marketers are turning away from traditional marketing tactics and spending more online. MarketingProfs further explains the benefits: First, most publishers are having a hard time filling prime advertising space, which means you have a chance to buy at a stellar price. Secondly, if you can manage to hold on while your competitors panic and irrationally slash their budgets, you’ll most likely come out on top when the recession ends. Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes, “This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.” I believe Quelch sums it up best by stating, “Successful companies do not abandon their marketing strategies in a recession; they adapt them.”
Our friends over at Google are already adapting by brainstorming new ways to boost business within the travel industry. In fact, at Google’s annual TravelThink conference, more than a hundred travel executives took a survey in which the findings are quiet reassuring.
“Ninety-four percent of travel executives said online advertising would provide the strongest return on investment compared to other media in the next 12 months. Some twenty percent of travel advertisers will spend more than $10 million in online marketing this year, and more than half will spend $1 million or more. Search engine optimization was the top marketing tactic along with e-mail, according to the study commissioned by Google.”
JupiterResearch at Google’s TravelThink 2008
Within the hospitality industry, the Internet is by far your most resourceful weapon in this economic battle. Remember it’s all about strategy and your return-on-investment. You cannot afford, especially in times like these, to waste your time with unrelated traffic. While it may not be a time to experiment with new snazzy marketing tactics, you can take assurance in relying on your past/proven techniques. This brings me to my last point, Internet marketing allows you to track and put your money where it’s most valuable. Blizzard’s SEO Team Leader, Carrie Hill, states:
“The best thing you can do is spend marketing dollars where you can measure, analyze, and realize your ROI. I don’t know any other way — any cheaper way — than to use your Web site and online advertising to bridge the gap the poor economy is creating.”
Carrie Hill, SEO Team Leader, Blizzard Internet Marketing
Blizzard Internet is here to guide, consult and direct you through the tough days ahead. Among all the economic uncertainties, you can take confidence in us. Our expertise, knowledge, stamina, and proven ROI results will help keep you afloat. You simply can’t afford not to have us onboard!
Work Cited
- http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3631161
- http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/news/newsroom/detail.html?sid=35039
- http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5878.html
October 30th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Thank you for summing this all up for us. This is the same message that I have heard come from huge corporations (American Express, Hilton, and Orbitz) as well as marketing experts and statisticians across he country. Don’t duck and run, stay ahead of your competitors and gain market share with a strong strategy that you can monitor and adjust quickly.
October 31st, 2008 at 8:43 am
Great post! It is very informative . Thanks for sharing.
November 1st, 2008 at 4:16 am
I appreciate the comment in the article by Harvard Business School professor John Quelch :
“This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.”
November 3rd, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Excellent article. We can thrive during these times and your perspective is most welcome, thanks!
November 9th, 2008 at 2:47 am
nice perspective. simply awesome post. thank
November 10th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Blizzard Internet is a well known marketing expert that I’ve been heard for quite long time. It’s a good news for every businessman that they still have guidance and hope in the middle of this economy crysis.
November 11th, 2008 at 12:04 am
Your article is completely correct. Some could argue that because there are so many less advertisers in a recession, that a company could grow significantly. The California mortgage market that I’m familiar with, might be a bad example of this. But if you sell a product, people would rather stay home and search on their computer, than go to the store these days.
November 13th, 2008 at 2:59 am
Excellent post. Too many companies are burying their heads in the sand and hoping everythnig will be ok.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Yes, this is the right time to go for online marketing to bridge the gap that poor economy is creating.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:19 am
What you say is absolutely correct but when I get out and talk to small business owners their first reaction is still to cut overheads and that starts with advertising costs. I’ve even proved to some of them that I can send them targeted traffic and they still will not pay to advertise.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:39 am
you really had great insights about business, thanks for sharing it, I’ll try to come up with something using your helpful ideas.
November 22nd, 2008 at 6:42 pm
It’s always so important to plan rather than panic when the economy is hurting. I’ve seen so many of the changes that the internet has gone through, and on hand it is similar to offline, while on the other hand it changes faster and has proven far more adaptable.
November 29th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
“The best thing you can do is spend marketing dollars where you can measure, analyze, and realize your ROI. I don’t know any other way — any cheaper way — than to use your Web site and online advertising to bridge the gap the poor economy is creating.”
Carrie Hill, SEO Team Leader, Blizzard Internet Marketing
I agree 100% – the internet is the easiest way to do this, though it should be noted that other advertising mediums can be used this way as well. For instance setting up a dedicated 800 line for a particular radio campaign would be one way of tracking results from it, or of course good old coupon clipping.
December 16th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Thank you for writing such an informative post. That being said, now is the perfect time for businesses to grow online, expand their reach and customer base. Think outside of the box and use this economic recession to your advantage!
December 19th, 2008 at 6:58 am
I appreciate the comment in the article by Harvard Business School professor John Quelch :
“This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.”
February 9th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Panic is panic: a company has to be absolutely stable financially in order to keep their marketing costs the same or even to think of increasing them. But when you start losing clients and anticipate a significant decrease in revenues, it’s not that easy to act bold and not cut spending.
March 20th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
@Monique c, I strongly agreed with your saying, Of course this is the very right time to step up the internet market, But anyway economic recession is a big loss for internet marketers also, How can we take it as advantage dude! lol :D
March 23rd, 2009 at 9:09 am
@ Smith, Nicely said mate, When i heard about the global economic recession, even i got depressed, because i have invested a lot,
But Still i have learned something from this loss, and now am steady with my interest marketing business :D Thanks
March 23rd, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Good post. I agree that we should not slow our advertising one bit. Don’t let the chain reaction of a slowing market take you. We do have to be strong during these times, especially emotionally. We can’t let our emotions fool us with our decisions. You guys seem like you have a good hold of what creates reliable ROI. Hats off to you.