During recessions, companies tend to slash their marketing budgets soon after payroll. When companies do this, they are losing out on valuable profit opportunities and new customer intakes. When they cut back on marketing and more specifically digital marketing, they’re cutting back on their client and customer supply–thus losing out on the competition and potential reward.
Bouncing back from recessions can be done. We’ve seen this in the past with companies who’ve gone through difficult economic times, maintained their marketing budget, and come out on top. In these cases of recession, some actually increased their budget. The only difference is they changed what they were spending the money on. Think: search engine optimization and social media marketing. In this blog focused on web design in Fort Lauderdale, we’ll take a look at the different ways companies can benefit from increasing their marketing budgets.
New Times, New Products
Product launches and website reveals can be risky even when the economy is flourishing. There’s a lot of talk about whether companies should put their products and services to market. New projects and new developments typically seem like the best thing to slash when a recession hits. Think again.
In various researches, we’ve seen that products launched during a recession can actually have a higher chance of survival in the long-term and greater profit margins. This is due to the lack of competition and that companies tend to focus their efforts on their products or service even more–making them of higher quality. Customers also notice this and tend to evolve with the company’s new output and fresh developments.
Timing is everything. The best time to come out with a new product or new web design is right after a recession’s mid-point. When a customer is at this point of the recession, they begin to acclimate and start to spend on non-necessities. New products can actually engender excitement and hope in a customer and allow them to feel like they can afford what you’re selling.
So maybe you don’t have a new product or service to showcase. That’s fine and dandy. If your marketing stays in place and your market research is flowing, then you’ll be able to have a long-term effect on performance. A recession is a great time to reinvent your offerings, reevaluate your priorities as a company, and evolve your image.
Making the Sale
While managers seem enticed to increase prices to maintain profit margins, this may be a faulty idea. Increasing prices in a recession can reduce the likelihood of selling a product or service. Going back and forth on pricing in such a sensitive economic time may actually backfire. In terms of digital marketing though, your budget doesn’t have to increase too much and in fact, can actually bring in more profit in the long term due to the lack of physical materials being used.
Where’s Your Voice?
When most companies cut back on brand advertising during a recession, the ones that remain and flourish are amping it up. If a brand can maintain its advertising budget, then they’re investing in its future as opposed to seeing it as an expense. The content of advertising must reflect the changing times that many customers are facing as well. Brands need to show that they care about their consumers and are in solidarity with them. Using humor, feeling, and honesty in your brand advertising can channel the main message which is ultimately: we’re here to help. How can we?
Response matches the context
A company’s branding and size will affect how it can weather a recession. Strong brands may be better to maintain prices and profit in a recession. A company’s changes are directly in proportion to the industry and country that’s affected. If a company affects multiple markets, then they’ll need to target different strategies for the business.
Digital marketing in a recession is simpler than ever. With web design, it’s easier and more affordable than ever. The rewards reaped from evolution in brand identity, brand expression, and targeting customer needs and wants are invaluable. While recessions aren’t always easy, you can count on the fact that customer behavior will change depending on their circumstances and needs. It’s not a matter of spending less, but a matter of how you’re spending. Recessions are an opportunity to give customers what they want and maintain their loyalty throughout. You should stop seeing marketing as an expense and start seeing it as a key investment to generate predictability in your sales, especially during tough times.
