Why you shouldn't stop Marketing in a recession

The current Covid-19 situation has resulted in total chaos for most of us. Businesses have pulled down their shutters, some of them for good.

People have been forced into social distancing, self-isolation and working from home.

The economy has almost ground to a halt.

Not surprisingly, businesses have been forced to operate at reduced capacity and as such have cut down on expenses as well.

But the truth is, although business, in general, might have slowed down to a trickle....it will go on...with or without you.

The key to longevity in today's world is value, consistency and most importantly....relevance.

Relevance means more visibility for you and your brand.

Relevance results in your prospects and customers remembering you and your brand when things get back to normal.

Why? Because you cared enough to stick by them during times of crisis.

I know organizations all over the world will be worried about how they're going to continue their marketing activities.

Some of them are worried about how they're going to pay their staff!

And most will not only cut marketing budgets but will also lay off marketing staff.

I've seen it happen in the last recession in 2008/09 and I know it will happen again.

Whether it is nurturing leads, driving sales or just maintaining a brand presence, marketing plays a vital role in delivering the brand experience to prospects and customers.

But sadly, marketing is often seen as an expense by most CEOs and CFOs and it's one of the first things that is cut when a recession hits.

That's a huge mistake!

You see Marketing is what drives people to your business. Without it, nobody would know you exist. In fact, without it, your competitors would have a field day converting YOUR customers.

There is nothing like an effective marketing strategy to battle a recession. An effective marketing strategy should:

- Focus on increasing the visibility of your business across all your marketing touch-points.

- Try to create more meaningful relationships with your existing customers and fanbase

- Create memorable stories and experiences that will stick in the minds of your prospects.....and make them buy from you when the crisis ends and when they're ready.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to spend a ton of money to execute a marketing strategy well.

All you need is a growth-focused mindset. What do I mean by that?

Traditional marketing focuses on top of the funnel strategies to drive more business. Things like Pay Par Click campaigns, Influencer campaigns, Sales promotions, etc. are examples of top of the funnel strategies.

While these do work in the short term, they are not clear and strong indicators of how well your marketing is working for you.

The modern-day marketer, on the other hand, adopts a growth-focused approach to marketing which means they're involved in all touch-points within the funnel, not just advertising and conversion.

By adopting a growth-focused strategy, you will ensure that your brand attains top of mind retention with prospects and customers.

Oh and did I mention because you'll be spending way less money on marketing, your CEO and CFO will love you for it?

I know the recession is here.

So cut down on your other expenses, cut down on your coffee if you have to.

Worst case scenario, reduce your marketing budget.

But please don't ignore marketing completely.

If done well, marketing can be the saving grace for your business in times of turmoil.