There are loads of articles out there, written by well-intentioned marketing experts (me included), that expound the belief that now is the time to invest in marketing – on the premise that no-one ever got MORE sales by doing LESS marketing.
You may be forgiven for being cynical.
But it’s true.
Of course, I’m bound to say that. I’m biased.
Yes, we want businesses to keep spending on marketing – of course we do. It’s in our interest to say it.
Over, and over again.
But it IS true.
Speaking to a client recently, I had to bite my lip when they admitted that their pipeline had run dry after 8 months of virtually no marketing spend.
With the words ‘I told you so’ stuck in my throat, we talked about ways they could quickly start generating leads again.
But they’ve lost 8 months of opportunity. 8 months in which they could have been stealing a march on the competition.
Investing money in marketing during a recession is never an easy decision to make – I’m not suggesting for a second that it’s more important than protecting jobs.
But it is a FACT that the businesses that come out of recessions ahead of the competition are the ones who’ve continued to invest in their brand and their pipeline.
Those that don’t, will inevitably be playing catch up.