Marketing to your best customers when business stinks

01 Feb 09 - Arthur Einstein

It’s the oldest cliché in business - recession is a time of opportunity.  But a raft of research confirms it's true.  People who market aggressively in downturns not only survive but consistently emerge stronger.  As Casey Stengel would say if he were alive today, “you could Google it”.

The most aggressive approach to  bad times is to figure out who your best customers are and market to them relentlessly. Analyze your customers based on transaction data  that’s sitting in sales or accounting databases.  It’s going to tell you things about your best customers you never realized.

But beware.  Best customers are not just the 5% or 10% who generate the most revenue.  In fact, customers who spend the most may already be spending all they can with you.

The wonderful thing about segmentation is that when you look at it carefully you’ll realize that you have at least three kinds of best customers: