SW+A 's Six "Upside of Down" Principles

On June 10 2009, Luke Sklar presented SW+A's point of view on how businesses can best succeed in today's economy.

Present were some of Canada's best marketing leaders...all attendees are in charge of leading the marketing function for their respective organization.

Six Principles to Win in a Down Economy

1. Create and Communicate Your Brand Value

• Dial-up value
• Get close to the customer
• Do not depreciate your brand
• Provide the solution

2. Invest in what you do Best

• Ensure brand promise is relevant & deliverable
• Fund your competitive advantage

3. Don't Get Caught in the Middle

• Be meaningfully different
• Stay on the Innovation roadmap

4. Do the 'Right Thing'

• Be authentic
• Be transparent
• Be trustworthy

5. Involve & Engage Your Customers

• Listen
• Build relationships
• Apply vision & discipline to social internet tools

6. Create optimism

• Create both external and internal optimism
• Be calm, be focused, have fun

Luke Sklar is the founder and a Partner of Sklar Wilton + Associates Ltd..

SW+A is in the business of helping our clients make better decisions.
We help clarify business problems and the best solutions via a fusion of marketing research, strategy and innovation.