The Economy and your marketing plans
The Economy and you
Yes, we all know that the economy is hurting us, from placing ads to producing brochures to shipping product to to to, well, you get the idea.
As previously mentioned, the first thing that is cut in most organizations when money slows down is marketing. From cutting the ad budget to not sending out mailers to creative.
As I said then and I say now, I do disagree with this. Now is the time to keep (or increase) the budget, because people do have a limited amount of money to spend and you need to be front and center, not behind or gone. But, you can read that entry for more information on that.
I want to talk about the EMBRACING of the economy and owning it.
Now is the time to step up and show how your product will HELP consumers/partners through the lean times.
For example: a security company can say "with the economy getting worse and more people not working, some of those people will turn to the dark side (i.e. thievery) and our service(s) can help you cope (stop)". You get the idea.
Another example: a CPG sells laundry detergent, so they can say "with our concentrated formula, you can do more wash with less detergent, saving you money". Again, you get the idea.
But, what about web companies? Easy. "Instead of driving to a store, come to our site and shop here first and save on the cost of gas and environmental impact".
Or, non-profits - now here is a case where the economy will truly hurt them, as their money is mostly made through donations and contributions. How can they appeal to the market to keep giving money? Well, they can't do anything different then they already have been doing, i.e. begging. If they are large, then they probably have investments or an endowment that will see them through the lean times, but, otherwise, they have to "APPEAL" to the good in people. From "give blood, it may save your life" to "give money, it will continue to educate the world about xxx".
And of course, there are companies that will definitely be affected and may have to shut down some or all of their operations because of lack of funds/revenue. As my grandfather always said "make a product or contribute a service that people must have, not like to have, as those that survived the great depression did just that - they made products that consumers needed (like food) or services (like being a doctor)".
No, you can't change your profession now, but, you can think about how you can appeal to someone's pocketbook, not through thievery, but through honest to goodness quality goods and services.
The economy will certainly weed-out those companies that have been "hanging on" and "barely surviving", but, that is a good thing.
Like a garden, you have to weed it every now and then to get the best vegetables.