Disclaimer: Before we start, we want to point out that Hudson Media, nor perhaps anyone else, knows if the Australian or global economy is headed towards recession or not in the next year or so. Though there are several indicators that suggest a downturn, this doesn’t mean it’s going to continue for the 2 consecutive quarters necessary to consitute a recesiion. Having said that, it’s an inevitable there will be a recession at some point in the future, whether 6 months or 6 years away.
The point of this article is not to predict when it will hit. The point is to emphasise a few important points, specifically related to your small business marketing endeavors. We all have a tendency to panic during a downturn, reduce our spending and ‘shell up’, hoping to ride through the worst of the storm. While reducing expenses is absolutely a good idea, not all expenses are the same. In fact, in some areas of your business, it may be very wise to consider keeping your spending on par, or even increasing it to some degree. Marketing is one of those areas.
There are several reasons for this…
1. You Need to Be Sourcing New Work
In all likelihood, your revenue may have dropped as the economy enters it’s prolonged downturn. You’d probably already noticed the downturn before it had actually been classified as such. What’s the surest way to continue decreasing your revenue even further? Stop bringing in new work.. How do you stop bringing in new work? You stop marketing and advertising. You should be marketing at all times to keep the leads rolling in but especially when things are slow. Ideally before things become slow, otherwise a little desperation may seep in which is never a positive. Keep your marketing budget up and keep the leads coming in, you’ll need them.
2. Gain Market Share
The fact is, just like you, your competitors are also likely nervous about what’s to come and reluctant to shell out any more cash on marketing. Now is the perfect ocassion for you to up the ante and gain a dominant position in the market. When competitors aren’t advertising and you are, what’s the likelihood of the outcome favouring your business? Pretty damn high. Keep the marketing rolling and increase your market share in the hard times. When the good times come round again you’ll be in prime position.
3. Inspire Confidence
Spending your funds on bringing in new work is going to inspire confidence; in yourself, in your team and in your potential customers. If these customers-to-be see you actively promoting yourself as if times were good, they’ll be wandering what your secret is; how your business can be thriving in a time like this. That’s a winning frame and one that will likely lead you to new business and increased revenue.
4. Get More Efficient
While we don’t necessarily recommend cutting the budget too heavily, we do highly recommend cutting the fluff. Now is the perfect time for you to get ultra efficient about your businesses marketing endeavors and figure out what’s working and what’s not. If Facebook is producing leads for $5, while Google Ads is costing you $14, cut the adwords and double down on Facebook. You should probably be doing this regardless of market conditions, though now it becomes somewhat of a necessity. A positive necessity no doubt.
