Advertising During An Economic Downturn

An economic downturn is scary for any business owner. More people are staying at home and fewer people spending money. You may be tempted to not just hit the brakes on marketing and advertising, but to slam them. But wait! History has proven that marketing in a downturn proves to be beneficial for the businesses that hang in there.

3 Rules Of Marketing During A Recession

During a recession, many companies drop out, stop competing, quit advertising. But, this is when you should be stepping up. Here are a few rules to keep in mind in the process.

1. Portray A Stable Brand Image

If you halt advertising during a recession, you may send an unintended message to consumers who are already facing a lot of instability in their own everyday lives. When a brand stops advertising, it can silently state that you’re struggling. That’s not what you want. A century’s worth of research shows that companies that continue or amp up their marketing plans actually make more money during the recession and beyond.

2. Use The Economical Change To Your Marketing Advantage

Advertising in a recession gives some unspoken advantages. For example, many brands do take a step back. If there’s normally a lot of competition shadowing your own ad efforts in a saturated market, you may garner more traction during a recession with your own ads.

Post and Kellog’s (dry cereal) are the perfect example of this. In the Great Depression of the 1920s, industry leader Post withdrew their marketing efforts while Kellog’s doubled theirs. That one choice gave Kellog’s a 30% profit margin growth and landed them a position as an industry leader.

3. Plan To Come Out Strong At The End

As stay-at-home orders come to an end and the economy starts to gain momentum in the right direction, you need your company to be standing strong and ready. Use the downtime to negotiate new rates with vendors to achieve lower prices that’ll be ready to poise when customers come back.

Let Us Help You Find A New Approach 

Henry Ford said “A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time”. The fact is, the choices you make during troubling economic times will have everything to do with how your business emerges when things recoup. If you want to re-strategize your marketing plan, reach out to us to start a conversation about how we might work together.