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B2C Approaches 107

The best approach in determining where the truth lies
between what customers say they will do and what they
actually will do is to combine test pricing exercises with a
balance of pre-survey and actual behavior tracking prior to
launching a major pricing strategy change.

Market down – segment

As consumers migrate down the economic retraction slope,
consumers migrate their spending away from discretionary
spending. The Miller Zell study shows that consumers “trade
down” in times of retraction. For example: they shift their
dining habits to “eat in” more frequently. The Miller Zell
study shows that in periods of recession, 50% of consumers
spend less in overall categories. At the same time, 62% of
consumers spend the same or more in grocery stores. In an
economic recession, general consuming trends across age,
gender, and income reflect reduced spending and movement
to trading down. 87% of consumers switched to private label
brands. 68% of consumers decided to stay home versus
dining out. Five out of 10 consumers had brought back
special occasions or family nights into their routine.
Consumers with incomes over $100K were far more negative
about the economy than all other income levels.

Great time to expand marketing activities

When employees are less busy, it is a great time to put them
to work on additional marketing campaigns tuned for the
economy. One Canadian health spa used its less busy time
to expand its email promotions. It put much of its oper-
ational staff toward additional marketing efforts to promote
coupons and discounts based on a limited time offer.