Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months you’re very well aware of the state of the economy. The news media are in their element. You can’t move without the news of doom and gloom being blasted from every corner of the world it seems. Fear and panic seem to reign supreme. it’s hard to find good news.
After all, good news doesn’t make great headlines.
But that’s not why many businesses will fail. No, most will fail because they have decided to cut back on, or eliminate, the one activity that is crucial for their very survival.
Marketing.
In a challenging economy, it seems to be almost a given that
“the marketing budget is the first to be cut.”
Marketing, including advertising, is usually a big line item and therefore easy to spot and, subsequently dispensed with. I’ve received more than enough surveys asking me if I’m “cutting back on marketing” or “how am I marketing in this economy..”
But why? Marketing is how you get customers. No customers – no business.
Marketing is how customers find your business and get to know about you. In a down economy, your customers are going to be harder to find.
So why would you stop actively looking for customers? Why would you give up and send, (yes, send) them off to your competition? Why would you not jealously guard your customers and do everything to stay on their minds? After all, didn’t you fight hard to get them in the first place? Your competition is the business down the road who, far from reducing their marketing, is intensifying it. The consumer budget pie might be shrinking but they’re making sure their slice of it won’t doesn’t. And the truth is, they’ll probably get a bigger piece.
Because they know that, even in tough times, customers still buy. And they’re sharpening their marketing chops to make sure your customers hear from and buy from them.
The customers you lose will be their gain.
I have never been able to understand just why companies scale down their marketing when times get tough. It’s supposed to be rational, but it really doesn’t make sense. Unless, of course, you haven’t been measuring your marketing efforts so you actually don’t know what works and your marketing really is little more than an expense just waiting to be lopped off. But that’s not you, right?
Along with employees, marketing is the lifeblood of a company.
So why is it the first to be cut?
What do you think? Is your marketing budget under threat? Share your thoughts.
And then read my next post for 9 simple business survival tips.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes, I agree. This is a serious mistake people make with their business. They just don’t seem to get that this is the best time to market your business and fix up your website so when the economy recovers your business name is “out there” already, instead of trying to catch the wave of recovery after it starts.
Spot on. I think it’s because many businesses thinking is short term when it should be long term. Short term thinking almost always results in knee-jerk reactions.