Make the Recession WORK For You!
I’m definitely the glass is half (or 3/4) full kinda guy. I’m most always finding the good in people and in situations. So while many people are discussing the recession, I look to the opportunities. :-) And so have our clients, many of which have been contacting us and asking how to take their marketing to the next level.
We’ve been honored to help many proactive organizations during this time. Whether they want a new web site to expand into a new market, or they want to jump in to online marketing, or they want to offer more value on their web sites, or they want send focused direct mail, or simply want to make their marketing materials to have a more consistent message businesses are refining their marketing.
The key is not to pull back, but to find out who your customers are & where there are at so that you can delivery them a consistent positive message about your business. And once you have their attention, deliver your C2A or Call to Action. Simple stated, ask them what you want them to do.
What if I just pull back and wait? Well if you reduce doing things that generate sales you will likely reduce sales.
On the upside, the sales graph above shows that in 1981 and 1982 the businesses that that increased advertising spending also had dramatic increases in sales after the financial storm had cleared.
“During recessionary periods, businesses (who advertised) tended to gain a greater share of market. Competitors, especially smaller marginal ones, are less willing or able to defend against the aggressive firms.” Source: McGraw Hill Laboratory of Advertising Performance (LAP): 1985
A recent BtoB Magazine survey showed that despite the current economic conditions 29% of those surveyed will increase their 2009 budget, 40.7% remain the same and 30.3% decreased their budget. Interestingly enough of those that are increasing their budget, they are doing so in: Print (9%), Online (48.5%), Direct (16.5%), Broadcast (3.0%), Outdoor (0.4%), Events (13.5%) and Other (9.1%). Did you see the nearly 50% for Online Marketing?! Just keep in mind that that is a % percent growth in budgets and not necessarily the % of the total marketing budget.
So which form of advertising should your business increase this year? The easy answer is the Web! But, a more responsible answer would be similar to to what you’d hear from a trusted financial adviser, “Be diversified”. A good marketing plan, like a good financial plan is best when it is balanced with a variety of ways to help your bottom line grow.
With 70% of the advertisers maintaining or increasing their spending I encourage to review your over all plan and seize the opportunity to expand on what is already working and to explore other areas that you have yet to tackle. You can weather the storm and be poised for when the economy starts to pick up. Be informed &
Make the Recession Work for You!
God Bless,
Oscar Myre IV,
[in addition to co-publishing your favorite newspaper, Oscar & Michelle offer creative marketing solutions @ the omOriginals design studio in Longview, at (360)575-9839]
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