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Multichannel Cost Management: How to Tighten Your Belt without Feeling the Pinch (Part 2) Trim with a scalpel, not a hatchet Life was much simpler before we had multiple channels, information overload, and global competition. If business slowed down, we knew what to downscale and how it affected our business. Today is different. Resources allocated to one channel delivers results in another. Sometimes, calculating the return on investment is impossible, so you have to go with your best guess. Fortunately, the multichannel marketplace has matured to the point that others have traveled the cost-cutting path before you. Learn from their successes and failures so your company can prosper during the economic slowdown. It is tempting to start your cost management initiative with the largest expenses in your financial reports. When owners or shareholders are screaming for results, reducing marketing, labor, and service provide quick results. They also provide long-term consequences and can cripple a company beyond repair. In Part One we looked at items to trim. This time, let's look at the areas to maintain. Keep proven marketing media like catalogs, postcards, and letters. Traditional marketing media drives sales to every channel. Elimination, or a significant reduction, reduces income. This is where the scalpel works best. Mailing smarter increases revenue without increasing costs. Invest your resources in learning more about your customer preferences and creating targeted mailings. Test new ideas or techniques with every customer contact. Expand innovation. You can't dig yourself out of a hole. Ignore your natural tendency to hunker down until the storm passes. The fastest way out of a downturn is innovation. Find new ways to engage customers, entice prospects, and enhance the shopping experience. The process is simple: create or reform, test, and repeat. Use innovation to expand your business and reduce your expenses. Reward employees who provide value. Your employees are your greatest asset and least utilized resource. Some people naturally take the lead. They provide ideas, information, and commentary. They understand that their path to success is concurrent with their company's path. For every one leader, 3-5 followers may have better ideas, information, and commentary that they don't share. Create an incentive program that encourages everyone to participate. Your best consultants are already on your payroll. Improve service that enhances your customers' experience. What services do you offer your customers beyond their transactional experience? Why do you offer them? Do they enhance your customers' experience, increase their trust, or improve your revenue? If not, replace them with ones that strengthen your business. It is easy to confuse your personal preferences and competitors' offerings with your customers' needs. Make sure that every benefit you provide has value to your customers. Maintain your sense of humor… …or develop one. You need it in tough times. Enough said! Marketing and managing smarter is harder than slashing costs. But, (and this is a big one!) the benefits include a stronger business, better customer relationships, and happier employees. Every one wins, you just have to wait a little longer for the results! Next Steps: Read Is Fear of Benchmarking Costing You Money? Give your email marketing a makeover Email Treasure Map: How to Move from the Outbox to the Shopping Cart Reduce marketing to hit-and-run customers How Much Money Do You Waste Marketing to Hit-and-Run Customers?
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