Whether or not we’re headed toward a depression, this seems like a timely question to ask.
So I decided to research it and here’s what I found.
The companies that not only survived, but came out of the Great Depression with flying colors are the ones that kept advertising.
It’s easy to pull way back on the purse strings when times are tough. Most people do. While that may be a wise strategy for a family or individual’s budget, it’s not a wise one when it comes to your company and its marketing budget. But that’s exactly what most companies do during economic downturns.
And the fact that most companies are so quick to cut their advertising and marketing dollars creates an even bigger opportunity for those that don’t.
In good times or bad: if people can’t find you, if they don’t know you exist, if you don’t remind them you exist, it doesn’t matter how good, affordable, convenient, etc. you are – they can’t buy from you.
Especially in tough economic climates, if you put your company in hibernation mode there’s a good chance it won’t wake up.
One of my all-time favorite quotes is by Warren Buffet:
“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.”
For investors, that means when people are scared of the stock market and are emotionally selling off their investments while running around yelling “the sky is falling, the sky is falling” sending stock prices into a free fall – it’s exactly the right time to start pouring your money into the market.
It’s not easy. It takes guts to do. But over time, investors who do this are very well rewarded.
And so it is with advertising your business. When times are tough, it’s easy to panic and keep a tight lid on spending. But when everyone starts doing that, it presents an incredible opportunity for the businesses that take the opposite approach and maintain or increase their advertising budgets.
It’s not easy. It takes guts to do. But history shows that companies that do this are very well rewarded.
If you’re interested in digging into this topic a little more, here’s a great write up on Google Answers.
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