You are the president of a pretty baller company. Your company has been battling with another company for market supremacy for a few years now and you think you’re about to get the hang of this and take over the top spot. Then, it happens. You didn’t do anything. Your competitors didn’t do anything. Your suppliers and purchasers didn’t do a thing. But those damn investment bankers screwed the pooch and sold too many derivative stock options that were backed by…(continue uncomprehensible CNBC talk). No comprende what happened and why you’re all of a sudden stuck in a recession! Guess what, it doesn’t really matter how you got here. Your industry sales (unless you sell candy or booze) looked like Ricky Barnes falling down the leader board at Bethpage. Your competitor(s) are in the same crappy position you are, so what can you do? You can adapt better than your competitors. And this, learning how to adapt your marketing to come out of a recession in a better position than when you entered it, is what we’re learning about today!
Nobody is Safe (Insert scary music)
Rule #1 – Don’t Cut Your Marketing Budget!
This is the only “rule” I’m going over, so it might as well not be #1, but just THE rule. The rest are simply suggestions. Many studies have shown that companies that either maintain their marketing budget or increase it during a recession come out in a much better position with increased market share. It’s easy to understand why marketing is one of the first areas to be cut because, apart from the sales function, it doesn’t directly add to the bottom line by earning or saving money, much of its benefits are intangible (at least in the eyes of people in other departments). Well, all I have to say is put up a fight with the dreaded finance department when they propose to cut your budget. Most of your competitors are going to scale their marketing back, which opens a window for you to gain all sorts of new customers. You need to take advantage of this!
Emphasize Value.
When your customers are tightening their belts due to the recession, they instantly become more frugal and are all about looking for a good value. Now don’t misunderstand this as me asking you to emphasize your low cost or lower your prices. Value can come in many forms, but must answer the customer’s opposition to buying your product due to the economy. This could be emphasizing the durability of your product in how it will last for years, or it could be making sure customers understand why your prices are high by explaining technologies.
Use Your Existing Customers
In rough economic times customers will be much less likely to try a new brand or product than normal, which will make it harder for you to acquire new customers. Instead, why not focus on selling more to your existing customers? This idea is labelled Jon Spoelstra’s “Quick Fix Silver Bullet” in Ice to the Eskimos. You have a group of people who already use and trust your product, so why not try and get them to buy it more often or in larger quantities? This will help offset the lack of new customers.
Get Creative.
When dollars are harder to get allocated to you for marketing, why not get creative and make your budget go further? Instead of spending millions on your planned traditional media advertising, opt for less expensive guerrilla marketing tactics. If you get creative you can aim for some free press coverage or try and make it viral on the Internet. Social media is another good tool to use to complement “traditional” media efforts and get more bang for your buck.
In the end, it’s all about not letting your company take your foot off the gas during the recession. Find ways to keep marketing your business’s products/services, no matter how much pressure you face to scale it back. In the end, it’ll pay off through less of a negative impact during the recession and leave you way ahead of the rest of the pack when the recession is in the rear view mirror.
Sound off in the comments section about any other tactics to use when marketing during a recession or expand on the ones I’ve mentioned.
Photo credit: wmliu
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One more thing. Now that your competitors are not your competitors but just rivals. It’s the right time to hit their market. Do this anyway. Just make sure you r competitors are out of market because they don’t have money to fight you back. Pull through this and the market is yours.
You sold me man. It’s all about presenting added value to your customers and fans. People may have less money to spend, but they’ll be more willing to spend it with you if you give them a reason to, if you enhance the customer experience, if you take the time to connect with them on a personal level and make them feel valued and appreciated. Creativity and caring goes a long way during these tough economic times!
Thanks to the commentors! I really appreciate when you readers chime in and add to the conversation, keep it up!
@jakyiscool – I’d say that just by doing some of the things I mentioned plus some others you will eventually take market share from your competitors. It’s not necessarily going out and saying I’m going head to head with Company X, but by simply making good decisions you will be leaving them in the dust.
@Matt – Your point raises another. If you are loyal to your customers in the best of economic times and give them products and experiences they value, they will be more likely to remain loyal when the times are tough. Then, you just have to continue providing that loyalty and showing them you really do care about them in the poor economic times.