Marketing connected
With the cost-of-living crisis and economic turmoil facing the industry, Gerald Allen, head of marketing at Epwin Windows Systems, discusses why companies should invest in effective marketing strategies to remain competitive.
When times get challenging and costs are being squeezed, marketing looks like an obvious place to cut investment. But it’s always a mistake to do so!
There’s a popular marketing proverb: ‘When times are good, you should advertise; when times are bad, you must advertise.’
We can see the proof of this sentiment time over. During the recession of 1981-82, companies that continued to invest in advertising and marketing saw 256% more growth than competitors that shrank or eliminated their budgets completely.
The reason marketing in challenging times is effective is simple. When the companies around you are cutting their marketing activity, there’s less narrative for your customers’ attention.
In the 2008 recession, for example, advertising expenditure dropped by 13%. Yet companies that maintained their marketing output saw 3.5 times more brand visibility. Furthermore, companies that continue to market during challenging times tend to grow faster in the longer term and bounce back quicker than businesses that simply vanish from view.
Of course, marketing in challenging times is easier said than done. You might lack the time or resources in-house to create the high-quality marketing collateral you now need to remain relevant.
You might need advice about where to focus your efforts or how to make the best use of social media, for example.
This is when your systems company can help. Their size and scale will be able to help you power up your marketing activity and reap the rewards.
It’s certainly true of the support that’s available to Epwin Window Systems customers.
We have a wide range of professionally designed literature assets, point of sale materials, advertising collateral and so much more, all of which can be branded with your company details.
There are extensive image and video libraries as well as digital versions of brochures across trade, retail and commercial markets.
There is a comprehensive range of “How to” guides covering subjects such as social media, taking professional photos on your smartphone and making full use of your company blog.
If you’d like more bespoke marketing support, you can work with our award-winning in-house creative marketing experts on campaigns that are unique to you.
You can also team up with our PR partner if you have a project you want to promote in the press or need some copy that communicates the value of what your business has to offer.
And our status as the industry’s biggest names means we can secure discounts for our customers too. For example, Epwin customers get discounts from industry specialist, Insight Data, on email marketing, real-time prospect data, telemarketing and market research.
All of this support – and more – is easily accessible via our ground-breaking, digital integrated platform, Connect. It was designed to help fabricators and installers access the vast range of business support available to them as Epwin Window Systems customers.
Matthew Dunne-Smith, of Oswestry Windows and Doors, said: “Having access to the widest range of marketing, digital, technical and PR support is incredible and is something we would never have been able to achieve ourselves. Connect is another level of marketing support for us to tap into – it’s a hugely impressive platform that is bringing us great advantages.”
Epwin Window Systems has a heritage that stretches back over 40 years. It means we’ve seen both good and challenging times. Crucially, we know what our customers need to navigate the tough times and come out stronger on the other side.
A portfolio of award-winning products and the support of an award-winning marketing team is a powerful combination to help your business not only survive but thrive too.
