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(Article first published in February '09. It has been modified slightly to suit its publication on our site)
There aren't many positives about doing business in a recession. Business is tough, cash-flow is tight and in some cases you may be dealing with suppliers or customers that are going out of business. Despite all this there is one positive when it comes to marketing your business; many of your competitors choose (or are constrained) to reduce spend. This gives you an opportunity, if you're brave enough to grasp it, but how brave do you really need to be?
Ultimately the market is smaller, but it's not 90% smaller. According to the CSO (Central Statistics Office), 2008 retail sales dropped by 4.5% compared to 2007. In real terms this is an adjustment of approx. 10%, based on 2007 growth of 5.7%. In 2009 the forecast is for a further decline of between 3% to 5%. All this means that the market is going to be approximately 15% smaller than it was in 2007. If I asked you at the beginning of 2008 whether you could survive a 15% drop in business over the next 2 years, you would more than likely say "yes, of course - I'll just need to adjust".
So what can you do to ensure that 15% is the worst you suffer? It's pretty simple - tell people you exist. Print advertising, direct marketing, internet marketing and anything in between are all things that you should be seriously considering right now and if you are doing some level of marketing then think of increasing your spend to reach more people more frequently.
In fact, a study carried out by research firm MSI in the US shows that businesses benefit from increased marketing spend much more during recessionary periods than they do during "good" times. Why is this? Firstly you let people know you exist, but more importantly is the psychological effect advertising has on potential customers. It makes them think 'they must be doing OK if they can afford to advertise' and so gives them the confidence to choose you over your competition. Your 'voice' will also be heard more clearly because your competitors will be quieter.
I should add at this point that this effect is not achieved if you run an ad or leaflet drop once every 6 months. I am talking here about a "campaign" whereby you advertise or market your business regularly and your target audience sees your ad multiple times in a reasonable period of time.
The advantages of all this in the short term is that you stay in business. Forget growth (although growth can be achieved if you're aggressive enough), all you are looking to do is sustain healthy business levels. However in the long-term, you will reap the rewards once consumers come out of hiding and the markets pick up. Many of your competitors will have gone bust and your company name will be in the fore-front of your customers' minds.
The bottom line is that you need to be looking to save money in every other part of your life, but when it comes to marketing your business, the motto is "plan & spend" or "hide & go bust"!
Franco De Bonis has worked in the field of sales and marketing promotion since 1990 and was most recently the global marketing manager for a major international technology company before setting up DG Group in January 2007.
DG Group is dedicated to delivering all the marketing solutions any company may require. Whether it's a website or leaflets and brochures, or even some product packaging; DG Group will manage the whole project and even provide guidance along the way.
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