Let’s talk about marketing in a recession…

Average recessions only last 6-10 months AND the worst recession only lasted 16 months. (officially) In spite of these facts, events still occur due to panic such as job loss, savings & investments decline & home equity evaporates… all due to emotional panic & bad decisions.

While I am no economist, it sure does look like we are in what’s called a Stagflation – inflation & recession at the same time.

There is a simultaneous appearance in an economy of slow growth, high unemployment & rising prices. For those of you thinking “unemployment isn’t high” … don’t forgot all those people that fell off unemployment rolls & then those that aren’t interested or able to get out to work. 

As far as you, the hard-working business owner always pushing to move forward… The truth is consumers don’t “go away” during a recession.

They just grow more conservative! While you cannot continue “more of the same” regarding your marketing efforts during this time, there is a lot you can do to course correct. Regardless… consumer confidence & buying behavior is down.

Because of many bad business marketing decisions happening out there, there’s new opportunity for you to gain a lot of market share here.

Let’s review some tactics to improve upon your marketing decisions:

• Regarding brand loyalty…

  • Assuming you have developed a sustainable brand that has the recognition of your specific consumers:
    • Maintain a bit of brand presence (financially less than before)
      • …unless you want to be the elephant in the room, capitalizing on the fact your competition is paring back so to go after their market share as well.
    • Increase direct response efforts (driving today’s dollars) yet “circle the wagons” a bit, geographically. This gives you a more intentional, targeted effort in your backyard.
  • Assuming you have not developed a sustainable brand with recognition:
    • Select a more concentric & targeted geographic area & focus on direct response efforts. If possible, include messaging touching on your core values & even whatever your value-add proposition is, as well.

• Customer retention…

  • Remember if you have developed any brand loyalty, your consumer hasn’t left you… they are just being price conscious for a while.
    • Consider offers or messaging that speaks to this to draw them back in, respectfully.

•  Diversification:

  • If your business & industry has ability to diversify, this would be a great time to do so. Expanding into new markets can offset any decline occurring with your current offering.

• Seek out co-op if you can.

  • Some industries (contracting, retail, etc.) may have access to co-op dollars from your suppliers & vendors. This would be a great time to capitalize on this to keep some presence in your target market(s)

• Make sure your agency negotiates hard for lower media rates, remnant space & volume discounts.

  • This should be a given, but it isn’t. keep your eyes open & track your spending, carefully

• Consolidate wherever possible & develop a smart marketing strategy to maximize return.

• Geographically speaking… most of you could “circle the wagons” a bit. Focus concentrically closer to your physical location(s) ensuring you can pull the most market share. Cost-effectively.

  • Some of the select few of you could consider the opposite tactic & market more during this period. It can make you the elephant in the room & get to the top of the pile of your competition. For this to work, you not only need to gain market share, but you also need to retain them as the economy bounces back

Steps in the right direction…

If you have a pre-established strategic emphasis on marketing your brand, this is a great opportunity to take advantage of reduced pricing in the media. Maintain a brand presence and focus largely on your direct response tools.

If you haven’t truly established your brand, strategically speaking, focus on direct response now & emphasize your core values as much as possible.

Depending on your specific marketing situation, both strategic options assist your specific situation to get through this time.

Finally… there are always those that just stop marketing & advertising all together. For those, I say that the economy historically corrects itself periodically and to quote Dickens “decreases the surplus population”!

… you eventually become a statistic in a report as to why most small businesses fail.