Market your way to success through financial downturn
Katie Bregazzi, operations director at Balls2 Marketing, explains how vital it is to maintain your marketing presence in times of economic uncertainty.
With rising interest rates, a cost-of-living crisis and seemingly endless news of strikes, it’s fair to say that we find ourselves in uncertain financial times.
And it’s at times like these, when the natural reaction for many companies looking to cut or reduce costs will be to turn their gaze towards the marketing budget.
However, history has a way of repeating itself and lessons we’ve learned from the past show that, in actual fact, marketing during an economic downturn can have huge benefits and help to grow a brand faster than it would during more stable times.
When it comes to marketing, the saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’ is incredibly apt. A ‘knee-jerk’ reaction to reduce coverage and exposure can be damaging to your brand, with customers much more likely to choose businesses and remain confident with those that maintain a public profile.
Continuing a consistent marketing message is vital to keep that connection with customers – without that, your competitors that are still marketing can draw them away and you may suffer an even greater drop in sales.
By keeping a stable marketing budget, or even an increased one if possible, there’s strong potential to achieve higher conversion rates than you would in a more positive financial climate.
There are a couple of reasons that this is the case. Firstly, if other companies do panic and chop their budget, then it means less visible competition in the market for you.
Secondly, because innovation can be another field that sees considerable reduced investment, new products and ranges launched during uncertain economic times will stand out from the crowd and attract more interest.
For instance, during the previous recession, Amazon owner Jeff Bezos revealed to stakeholders that the business grew by 28% year on year. How did they achieve this?
Not only did they carry on marketing throughout, they also launched new products to the market to fuel growth, specifically the Kindle, which went on to sell millions of units worldwide.
This is the perfect example that there are always opportunities to be had during a recession, no matter what size your business is.
For companies working with a strict budget who don’t have an in-house marketing team, or any full-time staff dedicated to marketing, then a marketing agency is the ideal solution to help you achieve success.
Getting the right strategy is key to this and an experienced team, like ours at Balls2 Marketing, is ideally placed to work with you to take advantage of the opportunities available.
To find out more about how we can help you, email me at katie@balls2marketing.co.uk for a free strategic consultation.
