Even in an uncertain economy and a potential recession, investing in marketing is a good idea. We know you’re probably skeptical about that statement, and that’s understandable, but hear us out. Last month, we asked people to tell us about their plans in the event of a recession in our June Learn and Earn survey. Read the survey and the results for more insight on how practices feel about a potential recession and how it would impact their business. One of those questions was “are you planning on investing more in marketing?” Here were the results:
Only 29% of the people surveyed indicated that they were planning to increase their spending in marketing. 48% said no, and 23% were unsure.
29% have the right idea. Here are two reasons why:
1. Cutting your marketing budget during a recession means less business – right when you need it the most.
It’s a good business practice to reduce expenses when you’re feeling the squeeze of reduced revenue that a recession can cause. If you’ve been pouring money into marketing and not seeing the return on your investment that you’ve expected, it’s worth auditing your efforts to see what’s actually working and what isn’t.
Once you’ve done that, though, the key isn’t necessarily to do more or less marketing – it’s to fine tune what you’re already doing. If you’re outsourcing your marketing efforts, it can be hard to know how to do that. Here are four low-cost places to start:
- Fine-tune your website. If there’s one thing to do, it’s this, because all the traffic you’re bringing in as a result of your marketing efforts lands here. If your website isn’t turning visitors into clients, you’re wasting resources.
- Increase your local accuracy. People are looking at your local listings. If they’re finding inaccurate information and crappy listings, you’re losing out on potential new clients. Increasing the accuracy and quality of your local listings requires some legwork, but goes a long way in helping your business continue to grow.
- Generate new reviews. Clients are looking at your local listings – and that includes your reviews. Having a system in place to automatically request reviews from your customers means less manual work for you and your staff.
- Grow your social audience. The beauty of social media is that it costs nothing but time to run, and it gives you an opportunity to retain current clients while also attracting new ones. The difficulty lies in figuring out what resonates with your audience. Whether you’re collaborating with local businesses, running promotions, or just asking questions of your audience, it’s worth it to spend time experimenting and fine tuning your social strategy.
2. Most businesses will be cutting their marketing – which means less competition.
Marketing isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. Unfortunately, most businesses don’t see it that way, and consider it just another expense. According to our survey, 48% of our respondents will be cutting their marketing budgets (and 23% said they weren’t sure). That means up to 71% of your competitors will be less competitive in the event of a recession. Less competition means more opportunities, which means a higher return on the marketing investments you do make.
We Can Help
Not sure where to focus your time and budget when it comes to marketing? MyAdvice has been helping businesses like yours get the most out of their marketing for 20 years. We’ve been through more than one recession, and we can help you weather whatever storms are on the horizon. Set up a free consultation with one of our experts to see how we can help your business.
