The past couple of months of this global pandemic have brought up no shortage of questions for entrepreneurs: “How long will it last? When can I go back to work? How can I keep working through this crisis? My cash flow has essentially stopped; how can I save money—and my business?”
I really can sympathize with all of the above, because I asked myself similar questions during the 2008 financial crisis. Back then, I was just starting to get my business footing, and when the economy came crashing down, I, like many entrepreneurs across the country, found myself staring at very slim pickings.
So this time, I want to address the elephant in the room during times of economic uncertainty: Should you keep marketing your business to an audience that may be struggling financially, and is it even worthwhile to market your services when people aren’t in a position to buy?
My response to both is a resounding YES!
When the country was going through the recession of the housing crisis, I was not the branding expert I am today, but I still remember seeing so many businesses around me pull back on their marketing. In 2008, ad spending dropped 13% — that’s huge, and a huge mistake! I know what they were thinking because I’ve heard it all the time from business owners I’ve taught and coached over the past decade: cutting costs to save money as a way to survive during lean times feels like the right thing to do.
But I’m here to tell you that your marketing should be at the bottom of your cutback list.
Recessions and crises like the one we’re all in today are when you really need good branding and committed marketing, even more than in good times. Yes, a slowdown in business is happening or inevitable, but a slowdown in marketing is something you have total control over—so own it!
I’ll give you 3 reasons why you don’t want to cut out marketing, especially when the future is shaky:
#1 – Marketing for Leverage
If you’re considering kicking marketing to the curb, know you’re not alone. It’s a knee-jerk reaction when your revenue tap goes from flowing to dripping. You start cutting expenses, and because marketing is one expense you’re never that sure about the ROI of anyway, it’s usually the first thing to go.
But consider for a moment that your competitors are in the exact same boat and making that same decision. When they’re not spending on marketing, they’re also not getting visibility. This is what opportunity looks like. It’s never going to be safe or comfortable. This is a perfect “in” for you to steal the spotlight and soak up all the attention for yourself. Remember, fortune favors the bold!
This can give you an increase in eyeballs and an advantage over your competitors, especially when business is slow and small businesses are slashing their marketing budgets.
NOW is your time to capture more of the available market share because you’re willing to invest time and effort that others are not. The economy will (eventually) pick back up again, though it’s anyone’s guess as to how long this will take to happen. That’s why investing in gaining leverage now that will pay off in the short AND long term.
#2 – Marketing for Image
If you want to bolster your brand image, keep marketing during tough times. Putting money into your business in the form of marketing that puts you in front of people when profits are uncertain says a lot about your confidence. It projects an assertive, roll-up-your-sleeves and tackle the problem head-on attitude while most are falling back into fear-based decision-making. And depending on your business, what you sell or your industry — you could even find that a pandemic or recession is ripe with profit.
An entrepreneur friend of mine here in New York has an awesome online art class business, and she’s actually more than doubled her sales during the lock down. Because more people are staying home and need fun stuff to do, she’s used this as an opportunity to amp up her Facebook ad marketing and, as a result, has grown her email list 10X and earned quite a bit of notoriety and social currency as well.
Not all businesses can do this and do it with real confidence. Most are facing financial despair and are forced to pull back somewhere, but if you can avoid cutting your marketing and have means to lean forward, by all means do it! Here’s a quick way to start improving your online presence.
#3 – Marketing for Value
Do you know why people plant date trees? That’s right, date trees. It’s not because they want to run a successful date farm—it’s because they want their kids to. That’s because it takes 4-8 years for a date tree to grow and then up to 10+ years for it to fruit. That’s quite an investment of time and money in a business without much to show for it for quite a while. The point is that if you ever want to eventually reap the kind of rewards that can’t be gained overnight, you have to start, stick to it, and be patient.
The same is true with marketing to cash-strapped people who can’t buy from you right now. Marketing is not going to get you immediate sales, no matter what you hear from marketing campaigns that sell marketing services.
More realistically, marketing is for building awareness and value over the long-term to accumulate sales over time through consistency and commitment.
When done right, they WILL remember you when the time comes for your service and when they are finally ready to make a “yes” decision, you will be right there, in their mind, and their inbox.
It’s Never Too Late
Marketing and branding support each other and can do the heavy lifting of carrying your business to safety when times are lean, and clients and cash are scarce. Even in a global economic crisis, it’s not too late to strengthen your brand to inform your marketing. And when the next crisis hits (because there will always be a next one), you’ll be glad you did the work. Start HERE by downloading the Brandshrink!
I am a partner and brand strategist at Worstofall Design where we build brands that turn expertise into profit. Unlike most branding firms, we build entire brands in days instead of months, and only work for 1-3 person service businesses. Our unique process and niche positioning has helped us to overcome the hurdles we struggled with when we were starting our business, reliably attracting a steady flow of high paying clients and allowing us to enjoy the freedom that inspired us to become entrepreneurs in the first place. At Forbes, my goal is to clarify and simplify the elusive idea of “branding,” and share practical tips and tangible steps to help businesses find their unique brand voice that leads to profit.
