On Thursday October 23, BtoB Online is hosting a complementary 60 minute webinar about running an effective B2B email marketing campaign in a bad economy. Their webinars are usually pretty informative.

B-to-B Email Marketing in a Downturn: Don’t Sell, Inform.

As more and more experts jump on the bandwagon with advice about marketing in this lousy economy, one area is really rising to the top — social media. Interesting that an economic meltdown might be just what it takes to push marketers into testing out these new communication avenues.

Brian Solis writes that appealing to those who can help spark word of mouth is essential for technology marketers today. His message applies to other types of companies as well.

During Tough Times, the Echo Chamber Can Be Your Best Friend [via TechCrunch]

For those of you who are debating whether or not social media would be an effective marketing tactic for you, two recent articles bring up a couple of reasons it may  be worth considering.

Leslie Poston, writing on Mashable, argues that since “conventional” marketing programs are becoming less and less effective (a trend that isn’t necessarily tied to the lousy economy) marketers must find new and different approaches. She suggests that social media can work — with some changes in how we evaluate ROI.

Is Social Advertising a Safe Haven for Advertising Budgets? [via Mashable].

Coming from a different angle, Paul Dunay, at Buzz Marketing for Technology, closes a recent article about the big marketing budgets of really big companies with the thought that social media is a way for smaller marketers to be more competitive.

How Much Should B2B Companies Spend on Media? [via Buzz Marketing for Technology].

Here’s a typical scenario. The economy goes bad and business owners / marketers continue to do what they’ve been doing – maybe even do a little more of it – hoping it will work better. When it doesn’t and they can no longer afford the expense, they cut everything – sometimes just to meet payroll.

Here’s a better scenario. Business owner or marketer realizes buying processes are changing and changes the marketing process to match. At the same time competitors are following the typical scenario so meeting prospects’ buying needs becomes easier. Winner!

How does a business owner or marketer live the second scenario rather than the first?

» Continue reading “Things are Different: A Mental Exercise for Taking Advantage.”

Craig Rosenburg, at The Funnelholic, takes a decidedly defensive approach when laying out his 3 Changes Marketers Must Make to Survive in This Post-Apocalyptic World, but his ideas are solid. He counsels his readers to 1) retarget, 2) remessage from “nice to have” to “must have” and 3) redefine what a qualified lead is.

3 Changes Marketers Must Make to Survive in This Post-Apocalyptic World [ via The Funnelholic].

Hello and welcome. I thought I’d start this new blog off by telling you something about who I am and why this blog exists. In future posts we’ll get into the really useful stuff.

My name is Susan Pascal Tatum and I am a co-founder (and President and CMO) of Tatum Marketing Inc. We’re an internet marketing firm helping business-to-business and professional services companies succeed online.

Although Tatum Marketing was born (as The Tatum Group) in the midst of the techno bubble burst, what we are currently experiencing is not my second melt-down. No, it’s about my fourth. I am old enough to have been actively marketing through the real estate crash of the late 80s / early 90s, and through several earlier economic downturns.

Every bad economy is different, but one thing I know for sure. Economic downturns provide magnificent opportunities for marketers who are willing to take their heads out of the sand, make the right course corrections and capture market share while everyone else is freaking out.

As you might imagine, at Tatum Marketing we’re spending a lot of time right now reassuring clients and calming down B2B business owners in general.

So we figured, why keep the conversation one-to-one? Let’s all get involved. We have some great “secrets” about marketing in a downturn and so do a lot of other marketers and business owners out there.

We’re going to be marketing in a meltdown for a while. This is a place to share your knowledge and ask your questions. (Not that you can’t contact us directly if you want to).