Part 1 recap: While everyone craps their drawers due to the economy, you smile about the recession strategy you put in place months ago. You now start thinking about a recovery strategy for early next year. Part 2 recap: You create a high-level budget estimate for an acquisition-weighted marketing strategy, revenue based and driven by informed metrics such as cost-per-customer-acquired. Before we conclude with Part 3, two quick updates. First, I mentioned Monday that the sooner Wall Street flushes itself the better - was Tuesday soon enough? Now, as I type, Asian markets are down 10%. How soon until Bernanke steps in with an emergency cut to 1%? [UPDATE: OK, so he cut to 1.5 after I went to sleep.] Second, a survey was just released with two data points that ought to stifle the canard “now is the time to advertise.” Point #1: Epsilon surveyed some CMOs and assorted other marketing execs, with 65% saying their ad budgets will decrease because of the troubled economy. Point #2: 94% agreed with the statement "a tough economic period is precisely the time when marketing plays a key role." How noncommittal. I mentioned yesterday to inflate your budget calculation by 35%. Here’s the explanation: - 10% is to give back to the CFO so he or she feels like they beat you down - 10% is for customer research - 7.5% is for consulting support (such as positioning work, channel strategy, etc.) - 7.5% is for training Get the latter two on the calendar early in the year. Otherwise, you might find yourself in a “give back” dilemma later in the year when the CFO comes looking for discretionary spending to cut. Map out the different channels the new customers will flow through. For each channel, reverse the funnels to determine the number of prospect touches required. Multiply by average media cost for each channel, and sum all channels. Tweak this model until it jives with your total acquisition budget, calculated as shown in Part 2. Make the Case Turn all this math into a compelling story about an acquisition and growth strategy. The owner, CFO, et al. should appreciate that much more than a list of tactics randomly spliced together. It’s all a bit mechanical and boring, indeed. But the strategy part isn’t supposed to be sexy. I’m living proof of that. === === With what’s going on in the world, Yom Kippur should be a national holiday. So I’m going to do my part. “See” you Friday AM.

