Sacraficial Lambs No More

Marketing is the most scrutinized department during a recession. This lends to “us” being the sacrificial lambs when times get tough. But, before your (business leaders) sharpened pencil begins to reduce or eliminate the marketing budget line, think about a few things first.

If you have a good team of marketers who know the product, the company, and are able to recite the company’s customer service mantra in their sleep – is it a good idea to lose them? When the market rebounds and consumers start spending, where will you be? Out looking for new talent, and then going through a learning curve with them as they familiarize themselves with the product, company, etc. You want to be geared up for when things begin to turn. You want to be sure you have a team ready to jump out at the gate. 

You don’t have to spend millions to get your name out there. A good digital campaign, or a very market segmented campaign, can give you a lot of steam in the environment we are now in at a fraction of the cost of traditional campaigns. Take a moment and think about the added benefit of marketing in a time like this: customers you already have are assured you are still strong, customers of companies that have succumbed to the pressure are looking for a new business to meet their needs, and there is a less crowded stage of competitors.

Spending in the marketing department will have to be sacrificed in such harsh times, but my missive is to just make sure you think about the line item a little more before slashing. There are some benefits to investing in your company’s image even in tough economic times.