What marketing ideas will work best in this economy? Please add your two cents.
I will be telling my small business clients to carefully measure the ROI they get on the marketing they do. Don't waste time on activities that aren't working. If you put together a strategy for the year you won't waste time trying a little of this and a little of that.
Be ruthless about spending your marketing time and money on what costs the least and gets the biggest results. My picks to achieve that are:
1) social network marketing--but be selective and focus on social networks in your local market if your business is local
2) online marketing like article submissions,and Squidoo pages
3) use video--its a huge sales conversion tactic
4) joint ventures and strategic alliances--perhaps the most lucrative strategy
You need to be aggressive and smart about your marketing this year if you want to grow.