There’s no doubt that the world’s economy is struggling as we continue to fight this global pandemic. This is prompting many businesses to look for any way they can cut costs.
Often, the marketing budget is one of the first things to go.
After all, it seems like a good way to reduce expenses without eliminating staff positions.
Unfortunately, cutting back on marketing costs is a big mistake.
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If you have already experienced a temporary dip in sales, putting a stop to your marketing efforts will decrease your numbers even further. In fact, some of the world’s most successful companies – Pizza Hut, Amazon, and Walmart, to name a few – have become successful because they increased their marketing budgets during a recession.
Learn more to see why you should keep up your marketing spending now more than ever.
The Long Game of Modern Marketing
One of the first things to remember is that modern marketing isn’t about quick fixes. It’s a long game. You’re no longer spending money on things like print mailings or radio spots. Instead, you’re building a content empire, which, in turn, builds recognition and trust among your potential customers.
Search volume might be down, but you still want to stay on top of the search engine result pages. It’s well-known that one of the factors that Google uses to determine who gets shown is the frequency of updates. A site that’s updated often appears active and well-maintained to the search algorithms. If you drop out of the content game, you’re going to start to lose your ranking.
Additionally, remember that every new blog article is another way for a potential customer to find you. If you’re writing one article a week, you’ve got 52 new opportunities to show up in the search results at the end of a year. If you cut that down to just one a month, you’ll only have 12 new opportunities to catch a customer’s eye. Clearly, the company with more blog content is going to be at an advantage.
Keeping Your Voice Active
When you stop your marketing efforts, you start to lose your voice in the industry. Customers won’t immediately think of your brand when they want to build a new home. They’ll be starting the research process from scratch, and this gives your competitors a chance to jump in.
Even worse, if you get quiet during the recession while your competitors decide to ramp up their efforts, their voice is definitely going to overtake yours. You don’t want to give them that edge.
Reduced Advertising Costs
Companies who continue to advertise during a recession are likely to enjoy one big benefit: reduced advertising costs. Generally, you’ll be able to get more bang for your buck.
For instance, the goal for your company could be to naturally place in the search engine results, and usually during a recession, the per-click cost of advertising on Google gets lower.
Your business may not rank in the top results on Google yet, but with PPC advertising, you show up on the first page. Most searchers are savvy enough to recognize what’s an ad and what’s an organic search result, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t click on your ad and find exactly what they want. In fact, there’s a good chance that they will.
Some Businesses Thrive
Finally, we just have to remind you that some businesses actually thrive during a recession. For home builders, this could be your time to shine. The government is going to want to bolster the economy by keeping mortgage rates low. With lower rates, buyers have more purchasing power, so they may start to feel that new construction is within their reach, and it offers them a way to get everything they want in a home without compromising.
To be successful, consider focusing on advertising your most affordable options. Some people won’t be looking for high-end finishes, but they’ll still want quality homes that offer important features like mudrooms, open-concept living areas, and master suites. These are all things that most brand-new homes feature that aren’t as common in resale homes. You have a good opportunity to attract customers with these things.
We don’t recommend cutting back on your marketing budget during a recession, but we do think that you should be smart about the way you spend it. A continuous focus on content marketing helps you to build up your reputation during uncertain times. Schedule a meeting with our experts to see how you can take your marketing to the next level.
Originally published Aug 11, 2020
