Marketing in a Recession

If you’re in the real estate or construction industry, you’re feeling the economic strain. Most of you are figuring out ways to tighten the ship. For many companies, this means layoffs, hiring freezes and other cost-cutting tactics.

Even before resorting to these measures, many companies consider trimming or, in severe cases, eliminating their marketing budgets. I touched upon this topic briefly on KCast Episode 11 with Vik, and I’d like to explore recession marketing a bit further in this space.

So let’s start with the most basic question, should you cut your marketing budget to save costs during a recession? The answer? Yes, you probably should. But not in the way you may have thought.

Tough times should drive you to take a hard look at each of your marketing efforts. Here are some guidelines when reviewing your marketing tactics:

Find what strategies are giving you the best bang for your buck

Depending on how much money you invest in a given tactic, you may realize that public relations is giving you a much better return on investment than advertising. Can you move money out of advertising and get more out of your dollar by putting it to public relations? Efficiency is really the key word here. A new website would be great, but does your existing site serve the functions you need it to at zero cost?

Minimize risk

I’m a firm believer in social media and online marketing, but if you’re new to these markets and haven’t had proven results, maybe this isn’t the best time to enter the online market. If traditional advertising methods are a consistent and proven lead generator for your company, you may want to stick with it and leave the riskier tactics for the economic rebound.

Keep an eye on the competition

Your biggest competitors are in the same decision making process as you. Keep a close eye on them and try to figure out where they are cutting costs. Have they laid off sales teams? Are they pulling advertising or cutting PR? Identifying their weaknesses may influence where you continue to market. Less competition means your brand has the attention of more people.

Reuse and recycle

Do you have to have that brand new ad? Can you extend the life of an existing piece of creative for a little bit longer than planned?

Take the leap into social media

One of social media’s biggest benefits is that it’s flexible. You can spend as much or as little on this emerging trend as you’d like. While it can be one of the most cost-effective marketing options out there, this advantage is usually contingent upon a few variables. First, how much do you know about SM? If you’re just beginning and need expert help, social media may not be the best choice. However, the great thing about social media is that everything you need to know can be found online. With a lot of reading, listening and a little bit of common sense, social media can become an economic and effective tool for any company.

Why you shouldn’t cut your marketing during a recession

Cutting a large chunk of, or eliminating your marketing budget has different consequences. If your competition is smart, they aren’t hitting the panic button, leaving their brands to stand out among the decreased competition. Many studies have shown that brands who maintain a presence during a recession grow at a greater rate once the economy rebounds. In short, people remember you, your services or your product.

Also, you lose momentum. If you cut marketing efforts used to capture data about your audience and build email marketing databases, you’re essentially erasing history for the time these efforts cease to exist. What if there is an industry shift in preference or opinion? Will you lapse in data keep up with the latest trends? Efficient marketing provides consistent sales. If you trim marketing, you very well may also be indirectly trimming sales. You’re in a recession, you know what that can mean.

Tagged as: Marketing, recession