Subhakar Rao Surapaneni says In a recession, marketing tends to be the first victim of budget cuts when, in reality, it is the most important tool a business has during this difficult time. Current economic downturn leaves many businesses wondering where they can cut costs.
Studies consistently have proven that companies that have the intelligence and guts to maintain or increase their overall marketing and advertising efforts in times of business downturns will get the market share from their timid competition.
Understand the value in marketing consistently
Marketing is an essential function to any business it is also lifeline to surviving a recession. Through marketing, your business can reach new customers and gain sales from previous customers. Therefore, marketing is an investment (not an expense).
Have the guts to be more aggressive on marketing front
Being aggressive does not mean throwing money at every marketing facet available. It is important to take a strategic approach and spend more but spend wisely. It does take guts to spend more when the outlook is gloomy but it has been proven to pay off.
Consider Marketing Outsourcing
If you are inexperienced in marketing or if you are looking to reduce fixed expenses it is best to outsource marketing to someone who is strategic, creative, and has proven results and can do it at a lower investment. These days you can outsource to countries seven seas across which can do a much effective job.
Closely Measure Results
Measure results as they are key components during hard times. Sorry magazines and print, but if you don’t offer reporting and tracking you are down in the dumps in 2009 and going forward.
Diversify Marketing Spend
It is also important to take a strategic approach when you diversify your marketing budget. For example, if you are currently investing the majority of your marketing efforts in a Pay-per-Click Campaign, You might want to segment part of it for email campaigns.
Focus on Improving Conversions
Increasing conversions is one step closer to increasing sales. Typically, increasing conversion rates from 4% to say 8% is much easier than doubling your traffic.
Good Luck and God Speed..