And why small businesses shouldn’t cut back on marketing in a recession.
Headlines everywhere are announcing the UK is going into or is already in a recession. Not the words anyone wants to hear, especially not a small business owner.
Your first thought might be, STOP SPENDING NOW!
And that is an understandable response to potentially volatile economic conditions to come. In some cases, this may be unavoidable for businesses that are already struggling and price increases reduce their only disposable income to zero.
Marketing in this instance could actually save the day, however, it takes a business owner with the nerve to risk spending on marketing without a guaranteed result. But there are things you can do even with the smallest of budgets, or even for free!
Many small businesses like yours can weather the storm, if you are just a little more cautious with your spending habits, don’t panic and look for opportunities where you think there are none.
Increase your revenue when everyone else is losing theirs
You could benefit from your competitors pulling back on their marketing spend, too fearful of the perceived risk of spending at this time.
This could be the perfect opportunity to promote your business and get ahead of the competition as long as you ensure your messaging is relevant to your customers and answers all of their concerns about the economic situation and how that impacts their business.
Your competitor could continue to market their business, but, fail to adjust their messaging to accommodate their customer’s fears and concerns. This is also an opportunity for you to take their sales as their audience relates to your messaging over your competitors.
Marketing in a recession shouldn’t stop, but it is wise to review your channels, your messaging, and your products or services.
With careful consideration, research and analysis, you could just find that gap in the market, and steal customers from your competitors.
Promote trust in your brand during the bad times, help others, provide advice and guidance and you will reap the benefits, if not immediately, but later, when you are top of mind.
A recession doesn’t have to have the hugely negative impact on your business that you may think. It could be your opportunity to grow. You just need to keep your head, while all around you are losing theirs.
This is the perfect time to review your marketing strategy and consider your next moves carefully they could just help you win the game.
If you would like a review of your marketing messaging, channels and strategy, to see if you can get a better return on your marketing investment (ROI) then let’s talk.