In Budget Freeze? - Wait! Don’t Stop Advertising!

Over the past few months I have had more & more customers tell me that they aren’t buying any promotional products. They all tell me they’ve had their budget cut. Yikes! This is the number one mistake companies make when in a recession - cutting back on advertising.

Believe it or not, a recession is the best time to advertise your business. Your customers are more choosy now, limiting their spending budget. Now, it’s your responsibility to give them a reason to choose you. If you don’t advertise, they don’t know you’re there. If your competitor is advertising & you’re not, who’s going to make it? I have had customers tell me their marketing people have been laid off. My sister is in advertising / marketing and her firm laid her off! It’s a crazy way to think! If you don’t advertise, you can’t sell - if you don’t sell, you can’t make money. And isn’t that what you’re trying to do? So, the last thing you want to do is cut/lay off your marketing & sales staff and their budgets.

Think about it this way - Pepsi vs. Coke - if Coke stopped advertising during a recession & Pepsi kept on, wouldn’t you be more likely to buy Pepsi? Wouldn’t you wonder if Coke was still out there? Don’t you think Pepsi would be getting all the profits? This is the same scenario between you and your competitor(s).

Advertising during a recession is essential to the success of your business. If you go back & do research on the great depression, you will find that those companies that continued to advertise during the depression not only survived the depression, they came out stronger.

Still think you can’t afford to market? If you even gave yourself a small budget of say $500-$1000 (or less), there are tons of items out there you could put your name on to market yourself. Check out our post Top 10 Most Economical Promotional Items for some great budget conscious ideas. There is always something that can be done - you just have to do it.

Remember, failing to advertise during a recession is one of the top reasons businesses fail.