Recession Marketing – Don’t Throw the Baby Out With the Bathwater!

 

 By Jean McIntyre (Marketing Angels)

What marketing changes can you make now that can see you through uncertain times?

Last time I posted I talked about how clever businesses understand that investing in marketing is what is most likely to make businesses ‘recession-proof’. 

A few people were a bit worried.  They said “Does that mean if I haven’t already put resources into marketing my business is going to fail?”

To that I say: “Relax – we’re not quite there yet!”  Australia is in a better position than most countries in the world.  We are not in a recession at this point.  There are still some things people can do to prepare and there’s lots of room to move in Marketing.

If you choose your target markets well and get to understand them completely – you’ll find that mostly their characteristics, needs and values are pretty enduring.  However, there are always small changes that occur – financial ups and downs, trends in tastes and attitudes, responses to competition – that mean that you may need to tweak your marketing to continue to provide what they need in the way they need it.

The 7 P’s of marketing (Product, Price, Promtion, Place (distribution), People, Processes and Physical Evidence) offer lots of opportunity to make changes that will improve the awareness of your brand in the market and customers’ willingness to purchase.

I recently conducted a straw poll on Linked In about what businesses are planning to change (if anything) to prepare for a recession.  The options were:

• Keep up what I’m doing
• Cut marketing budget to save $
• More marketing to build profile
• More marketing to get customers
• Change my product offering

I was pretty pleased with the responses.  Firstly, nobody said they would keep doing what they were doing.  This means that they are all recognising the need to change with the prospect of adversity.

Some said they would cut their marketing budget – but this was only 14%.  It’s an understandable response but not very smart when you consider that competition will inevitably get tighter as demand decreases and price wars ensue.

28% said they’d increase their marketing activity so that they build their profile (and brand awareness).  This is a sound strategy.  When people are looking through the myriad of options online and through the yellow pages for a business to serve them – they will invariably choose one they have some familiarity with and of whom the have already formed an impression.

15% said their marketing would focus on getting more customers.  This again is understandable and a short term strategy to bring in revenue.  It needs to be followed up with a good strategy to deliver quality products, create good customer experiences and develop loyalty, improve referral likelihood and most importantly, build a strong reputation in the market.  This takes time and proper management.

Finally I was most pleased to see 42% say they would change their product offering.  This is a recognition that people still have the same needs but their willingness and capacity to purchase may be reduced. 

There may be opportunities in some industries to offer new products to help customers better manage the tough economic times.  Mortgage brokers for example might offer a re-assessment of contracts to identify savings; accountants or financial planners might offer a service to help people budget better; car dealers might focus more on selling fuel efficient vehicles; landscapers might offer garden checkups to reduce expenditure on water.

There are loads of product ideas that you can try with a bit of imagination and a good understanding of your customers’ needs.

Of course there are other changes you can make across the marketing mix (7 Ps) – finding new suppliers, going to see clients instead of them coming to you, training your staff to deliver exemplary service, offering payment plans, investing in publicity and so on.

In many ways it’s actually an exciting time – full of possibilities for savvy business people. If you haven’t started marketing though – you’d better get a wriggle on.  If your business is to survive – you need to make sure yours is the brand people remember.

Happy New Year and Happy Marketing!

Jean Mc