Marketing in tough times…sometimes you need to dim the lights!

If business gets really tough and all other options have been exhausted, sometimes, you have no other option than to go unusually quiet – your ad spend has been taken away.

Remember: This short-term financial gain can result in long-term sales pain.

Zero brand communications and visibility across all media will result in a diminishing % share-of-voice – check out Ebbinghaus!!

Competitors stay active, albeit at a reduced level, and they will make significant gains in the mind of your customers.

If we allow this situation to continue, the cost of rebuilding the brand will far exceed any short-term saving.

But all is not lost. Even if paid media spend is frozen, your team can still take valuable action to keep the business visible to key customers and help protect jobs.

With any luck, any freeze on your marketing spend is just temporary – and short-lived at that.

Keeping your brand front-of-mind can still be achieved.

Consider…

1. Activities that don’t require a media budget.

2. Creating digital content that can be re-used, repurposed, redistributed.

3. Contacting existing customers with e-shots, newsletters and social media content – all produced in-house.

4. Journals with editorial space going singing – most publishers will run QUALITY editorial free of charge, especially if you’re an existing advertiser.

It’s a ‘you scratch their back; they’ll scratch yours’ approach!

5. Proven social media channels to communicate your brand message through – again, be ruthless in your choices.

You don’t have to be everywhere. Just where your customers are!

6. Evaluate which areas of your website are most visited / yielding results.

7. Trade shows to visit, network and connect with your customers.

Top tip: Make sure existing customers get a personal invitation to visit you on the stand or meet you in a networking zone.

Ensuring customers feel important is an essential part of retaining their business

And remember (my favourite saying): People do business with people.

In summary, marketing in tough times is going to be, well…tough!

But keep your eye on YOUR sales battle(s) rather than the bigger economic war.

Identify and react to customer’s changing buying habits, and find ways to add value.

Hold your ground by using the above arguments when it’s suggested to Stop Advertising.

 If you do need to cut back your marketing activity, measure twice, cut once…but be sure!

And, no budget doesn’t necessarily mean no activity – be inventive.

Finally, listen and evaluate the advice from your marketing support team.

Experienced advisers have navigated these waters before!!

Need more street-wise ideas on how you to keep the brand front-of-mind on a nominal marketing budget?

Get in touch –  business and creative ideas are what we’re all about!

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