Why You Shouldn't Cut Marketing Dollars During a Recession
During times of economic downturn, it’s a natural first instinct to resort to reducing your marketing and advertising budget as you try to save some dollars. However, when customers are also reducing their spending, it becomes more crucial to properly allocate advertising dollars to generate new leads and continue to grow your business.
Based on the previous recessions, companies that maintain a strong marketing focus and avoided significant budget cuts are much more likely to come out of the downturn in good financial standing.
Rather than reducing your budget, here are some helpful tips to allow you to maximize the effectiveness and return on investment, to ensure you are getting your money’s worth.
Timing
If your competitors elect to cut their marketing budgets, that creates an opportunity for your business to jump in and take advantage of the additional market share available for you. Increasing your budget as others reduce theirs can really strengthen your company’s position within your industry and market.
Keep Pricing Steady
In addition to cutting back on advertising, cutting prices is another common instinct. Slashing your prices to help entice new customers or raising prices to generate more revenue from existing customers will create more issues in the long term for your business. Sudden price changes can give off the impression that your company is in panic mode and alienate part of your target market.
Study Consumer Spending
During a recession, consumer spending can change quickly and go through phases. Be sure to monitor consumer behavior and spending habits so that you can alter your messaging and promotions to capitalize on how and where people are spending their money.