A recession is not the time to stop marketing.
It is in fact quite the contrary. If you are a busy professional a slow period may be the ideal time to focus on your marketing. Even if you are working with a marketing consultant, developing a marketing plan will be time consuming. Furthermore, marketing takes time to generate results. Your prospective clients may not respond the first time they read your brochure but the seed will have been planted. Not unlike the fable of the tortoise and the hare, the plodder will be poised to win this race.
According to a research paper Turning Adversity Into Advantage: Does Proactive Marketing During a Recession Pay Off? by Gary Lilien and Arvind Rangaswamy of Penn State’s Smeal College of Business:
“Athletes often choose times of stress to mount attacks: strong runners and bicycle racers may increase their pace on hills or under other challenging conditions,” the authors write. “In a similar vein, proactive marketing includes both the sensing of the existence of the opportunity (a tough hill and fatigued opponents) and an aggressive response (possessing the necessary strength or nerve) to the opportunity.”
Here are a few more good reasons to continue marketing during a recession taken from Julie Roads’ article Top 7 Reasons NOT to stop marketing during a recession:
The recession will end. And the best place for you to be at that point is still in the game. Still working, having been creative, having learned – and still operating and visible. Imagine the message you’ll send to customers as we pull out of the downturn.
You have your own mind. Apparently, the companies that fared the best during the Great Depression are those that paid absolutely no mind to it. They charged ahead, believing in their product, understanding that their customers still needed them. Fake it till you make it? Perhaps. I prefer to think it’s a matter of attitude, optimism and fortitude.
Finally, here is an insightful comment Anne made on the above article Top 7 Reasons NOT to stop marketing during a recession:
Many companies (especially small businesses) are afraid of failing during a recession so they stop marketing to save money. The problem is that stopping marketing only makes it more likely that an organization will fail.
Related posts: Recession-Proof Your Professional Practice and Opportunity That is Exclusive to a Recession
Photo credit (top): Jima
Hi! Thanks for mentioning my post! You’ve done a great job of pulling it all together here…Julie