Consumers are telling researchers that free shipping is a critical buying factor these days. In a recent comScore study, 72% of consumers said that if an e-commerce site eliminated free shipping, they would switch to a site that offers free shipping. The LA Times found that nearly 80% of consumers are more likely to shop with an online merchant who offers free shipping than one who doesn’t.

Is Free Shipping a Must in this Economy? [via FutureNow].

Canadian consulting firm, Arcus, recently researched marketing strategies in a slow market and found 7 key drivers of successful marketing plans. Among these is taking the time to really understand how your most profitable customers are redefining value in a recession. Chances are good that buyers will expect more for their money, will spend more time searching for value and will be less brand-loyal than they usually are.

Marketing in a Recession [via Canadian Marketing Association].

Here’s another list of strategies for marketing in our challenging economy. This one comes from Marketo. Actually, it’s been around a few months, but it’s a very good list. Worth revisiting.

The 7 strategies are: 1) use lead management to maximize the value of each lead, 2) focus on your house list, 3) build and optimize landing pages, 4) create content for later in the buying cycle (our clients are getting good results with this one), 5) appeal to nervous buyers, 6) align sales and marketing, and 7) don’t be a cost center.

More info in the article.

7 Strategies for B2B Marketing during a Recession: The Definitive Guide [via Modern B2B Marketing].