Interview: Bud Gilson, VP Marketing, Hyrian
This interview continues our series of interviews with VPs of Marketing & Sales on the topic of demand generation. Our goal is to have these leaders in the industry share with us their insights. With the US economy sliding into recession we thought it would be valuable to focus on marketing during a recession.
This month Kevin Joyce, CEO of Rubicon, interviewed Bud Gilson, VP of Marketing at Hyrian, the industry leading RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) provider to the Fortune 500, based in Los Angeles California.
Kevin: Has the recession caused you to change the mix of lead generation tactics you are currently using? What are you doing more of, and less of?
Bud: The recession has caused us to move more towards web related lead generation. We are doing less trade shows and print advertising. I feel that in a recession most firms will have a bias towards the most accountable forms of marketing. In smaller firms long-term branding efforts are also likely to get hit during the recession. The big consumer brands know that it will cost them twice as much to regain their position after the recession if they reduce spending on brand during the recession so they are unlikely to change their habits.
Have you shifted the degree of focus on awareness versus that on pure lead generation?
No doubt about it. We moved heavily towards more lead generation.
Are you examining new or different marketing metrics as a result of the economic downturn?
No. The metrics are the same. Good performance metrics are still good regardless of the economic environment.
Are there technologies for marketers that you are adopting to drive efficiencies?
Yes. We have rolled out a marketing automation system (Eloqua) to help us on the accountability for our marketing programs, and to make us more efficient with the budget we do spend on programs.
Does the recession affect the degree to which you market to your installed base of customers and nurture your own in house prospect lists?
No. We know that the installed base and our in house prospect lists are the goto people for many of our campaigns. That hasn’t changed. The old adage, “your best prospect is your current customer” still applies, regardless of the economy.
What one tip would you share with marketing readers on how to exit the recession stronger than before?
Keep your marketing budget as robust as you can because it will cost you twice as much to recover lost ground after the recession.
Thanks, Bud, for your great insights!