At this time of year, many of us are creating marketing plans for next year. It wasn’t too long ago that we could get away with updating the previous year’s goals, plans and budgets with some new numbers and call it done.

No more. Too much is changing. The economic turmoil may be calmer, but it’s not over. And emerging media are making our lives more interesting (or should I say difficult’) every day. The best idea is to start from a clean slate – or at least reconsider our options – to determine the best approach.

If you’re thinking about environmental issues, you may gravitate toward electronic communications. Before jumping in completely, it’s important to ask whether business objectives can be met through email, search or online display advertising.

It’s unlikely all paper mail can be replaced by email, but where it makes sense to do so, we should. For example, if you have collected customer email addresses, communicating electronically will likely return positive results for you – in both response and ROI!

Where we need to use traditional mail, embracing environmentally friendly production methods should be part of the consideration.  Responders can often be sent online where you can collect opt-in email information for future efforts or to fulfill offers.
 
In a competitive and challenging economy, we need to use all the tools we have to reach customers and prospects and think through how we can meet our business objectives in an environmentally conscious way.