“No marketer is an island”. In a world of political tensions and economic uncertainty, marketing is often the first to face budget cuts. However, in the long run, it’s more profitable to keep the channels active and plan for the future.
In 2023, the economy sank into recession. Unfortunately, marketing budgets often became the first target for cuts. Budgets are either reduced or directed towards tactical campaigns that provide immediate benefits, overlooking the significant harvest ripening from brand awareness.
If you have a business, you always have a brand. If you have a brand, you always have a brand image. A brand image is created in people’s minds from everything they see, experience, and hear about a company or its products. This result of long-term work is a huge asset. Brand marketing and long-term communication almost always go beyond tactical marketing.
What do you do when the economy is weak, the customer flow is stagnating, and even bankruptcies are emerging around you? Market.
1. Don’t Panic
Do you have nightmares from the 90s when entrepreneurs lost everything overnight? Many companies make the mistake of thinking of a recession as a permanent state, even though 75% of recessions end within a year and only 30% last two quarters.
History also shows that marketers tend to overreact by cutting well beyond actual GDP losses. Worst of all, shutting down marketing affects profit for six months to three years. Therefore, the long-term costs of cutting outweigh the short-term gains.
2. Market While Your Competitors Sleep
Increase your market share when others reduce their spending. This is your chance to shine on a sold-out stage. When competitors decrease their investments in visibility, you maintain yours and win visibility. This principle is known as Excess Share of Voice (ESOV).
- Marketers who maintained their marketing efforts during the 2008 recession gained 3.5 times more brand visibility.
- Over 60% of brands that increased their marketing investments during a recession experienced improvements in return on investment (ROI) and increased additional sales.
3. Strengthen Your Brand Awareness
In an economic downturn, the money taps are turned off, and the market is quiet. However, this doesn’t mean the game is lost. A wise brand manager keeps an eye on the horizon. Demand born during an economic downturn shifts to future buyers. Ensure that your door is the first one buyers knock on when the economic tide turns.
Produce Content Wisely
Marketing communication is not something you can put on hold and wait for better times. Brand marketing doesn’t have to be grandiose; systematic SEO-optimized content production and visibility in selected channels can help. Investment doesn’t necessarily mean a significant expense; it can also mean smart solutions. For example, investing in digitalization and AI expertise can increase efficiency and bring savings in the long run.
A modern business decision-maker utilizes various ways to produce marketing, such as buying it as an ongoing service rather than relying on expensive in-house staff, marketing agencies, or rotating freelancers.
Explore our service. Here, you can read more about how Smoothly’s flexible content production service works.
Frequently Asked Questions. Here, you’ll find comprehensive answers to frequently asked questions, or you can contact us directly.
Hundreds of marketers already utilize Smoothly’s digital service platform to support their marketing. Try content production and marketing routine delegation flexibly without a notice period!