Recession Marketing Part 1

I read a quick blurb in The World Trade Center's Intelligence Brief (this is a trade organization for companies who export). (visit http://www.hwtc.org/)

The Brief discusses the pros and cons of pulling back on marketing during a recession. Here's a link in case you want to check it out. It's a quick read, but insightful. http://www.strategic-briefs.com/BIB/WTCCPACurrent.pdf

Unlike many articles that discuss recession marketing, this one makes a clear connection between ceasing marketing activities and customer perception.

From a financial standpoint, cutting marketing and advertising when times are tough makes perfect sense. But from a long-term growth perspective....not so much.

As the Brief points out, when you cease marketing, you leave your most important assets vulnerable to competitors, those being your customer base and your brand. It's only logical for customers to think you might be in trouble if you don't maintain some form of visibility. You can guarantee that one company in your category will use the current economy to increase market share. The relationship between recessions and marketing is a consistent one: someone pulls back, someone moves in.

Which position do you want to take, with an eye toward the future?

As an agency, of course we understand the need to maintain jobs and manage budgets.

We'd simply argue in favor of SMART spending vs. no spending. What people might not realize is that cutting a budget without rethinking your strategy might be just as bad as stopping altogether. After all, when resources are limited you don't want to waste dollars by spending them where they are ineffective.

Today, I just wanted to introduce the article and an objective, non-agency perspective on the importance of marketing during a downturn. Next, we'll provide valuable, real-world ideas on how to be the marketer picking up market share and comes out a winner when the market rebounds. More later...