Reasons To Keep Marketing Through a Recession
No Marketing? No Presence.
When times are hard, costs inevitably come under the spotlight, and as any marketer knows, marketing budgets and overheads are not immune from that. It goes with the job that questions about return on investment, value and worth crop up and intensify.
So it’s a paradox that just at the time businesses need to be fighting for visibility and attention harder than ever before, the very resources that are required to fund this work come under the cosh.
We’re a marketing agency so – obviously – we believe in the power of marketing. We also believe passionately that with good management, marketing will pay dividends, recession or not.
Unless you’re promoting your products and services somehow, you run the risk of seeing the flow of new business opportunities dry up. Here are our very good easons to keep marketing in the hard times, as well as the time of plenty.
1. Show your market you are open for business
Tough times means having to work harder to generate new business opportunities. Cutting out your marketing altogether – especially at a time when your competitors may be working harder on marketing themselves – will almost certainly put you at a disadvantage. If your current and prospective customers don’t know you’re there, they may forget about you and instead, next time they need to make a purchase, they’ll go to whoever happens to be visible at the time.
2. Do more with less – and be stronger for it
If handled properly, investing in regular, targeted marketing will generate a return in the form of new sales opportunities and conversions. But if you learn to run smart marketing campaigns on less budget, you’ll get better at it, become more efficient, and find that you can do more with less. The result is that when the good times return your business will be in better shape to take advantage of the upturn.
3. Give your customers the confidence to continue buying from you
Existing and potential customers need to see that your business is still strong despite the difficult economic climate or they’ll lose faith in your ability to deliver. If you look and sound confident, they will, in turn, feel confident in continuing to buy from you. If nothing else, continue to market directly to your existing customers to let them know you are ready to serve them whenever the need arises.
4. Reinforce supplier confidence for improved financial terms
If your suppliers see you actively looking for business and working hard to achieve sales, they too will have greater confidence in your business. This knowledge that that you are out their fighting for business – which will ultimately benefit them – will send a strong, positive message. Some suppliers may be willing to offer better payment and contractual terms, benefiting your cash flow and liquidity.
5. Raise staff morale to drive your business forward
With so much focus on the economy, sales and the bottom line, it is sometimes easy to overlook staff motivation. Employees naturally look for signs that the business is doing well, and in some cases may be fearing for their jobs. Morale can suffer, particularly amongst the sales force who may feel that they need marketing support to do their job. By proactively promoting your business, you’re showing them that you believe in the company and its future prosperity, and that they can too.
In summary: as with any business function, marketing shouldn’t be exempt from the cost spotlight. It needs to pay its way. But investing intelligently, making your marketing budget work harder and ensuring that every pound spent is accounted for will help you manage, survive and, ultimately, thrive.
