Welcome to 2020, where prices are on the rise and employment is a luxury. Tough times.
What’s the plan for your business in such a tough economy? Have you sat down and re-evaluated your goals and changed your approach?
Marketing budget cuts.
Did you know that most businesses make their first budget cuts in their marketing? Fair enough, when a business is under stress, spending on a pretty billboard or some interesting social media campaigns may not seem so enticing, but are the budget cuts doing more harm than good?
Let’s re-evaluate the role of your marketing efforts.
- Marketing, in most companies, is the department that is supposed to make the company “look good” and bring in sales. Well that is the simplified version of what most CEO’s see.
- Marketing sets the company apart from its competitors in a way that captures a portion of the target market, maintains and grows it.
- Marketing sets out guidelines for the look and feel of every customer touchpoint, from the way the reception staff look and behave to the digital marketing ads going out on Google. Everything. Every touchpoint.
Considering the above, does it really make sense to cut the marketing budget in a tough economy?
The answer is yes and no.
Yes, you must sit down and re-evaluate where your marketing spend is going, track your results and see where your pitfalls may be. After doing that you’ll have a much clearer idea where you may be able to save a little and maybe re-purpose that spend elsewhere.
No – to cutting the marketing budget down completely. Why? Well its simple. Without a concentrated effort on your company’s part to stand out, drive awareness and sales… where will your company be in a few years, if not months? If you think its bad right now… imagine no one knows about you or your products and your current clients start to forget about you because you’re no longer top-of-mind for them?
It’s tough, yes no one said it will be easy, but we can make it work. If you know your market, your products and your business well, you’ll be able to overcome the tough recession with a concentrated effort and staying ahead of target market’s needs. Think about it- once upon a time no one had a cell phone, but now it is a crucial necessity. Facebook is as much a part of some people’s lives as bread and butter and Uber, has become the obvious choice when going out for a night out on the town. You can do it. Just think about what your target market wants and needs and stay ahead of their evolving tastes.
Eve Berriman
CEO and Founder of ZebraCrossingWorld
