Many businesses have felt the financial impact of the closures and changes in 2020 due to COVID-19. Some companies have made the strategic decision to lessen their marketing budget. However, keeping your marketing consistent and on-track is crucial for the success of your business. Interactive marketing – especially email marketing – offers cost-effective options that can help your company survive and thrive, and be well-positioned for the return of better days.
If you stop advertising and marketing, you may inadvertently give your customers and prospects the impression that you’ve gone away or given up. Don’t set the stage for your competition to move in. Instead, move your dollars to more effective marketing channels that give you maximum return and results. And if your competition is pulling back, all the more reason to seize the opportunity to make your company more visible, and build awareness and relationships for the long term.
Research shows that companies that consistently advertise even during recessions perform better in the long run, according to a Knowledge@Wharton article titled “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Don’t Skimp on Their Ad Budgets.” A McGraw-Hill Research study looking at 600 companies from 1980 to 1985 found that those businesses which chose to maintain or raise their level of advertising expenditures during the 1981 – 1982 recession had significantly higher sales after the economy recovered. Companies that advertised aggressively during the recession had sales 256% higher than those that did not continue to advertise. Check out the article here.
Stopping your marketing efforts can also incur more costs in the future. Regaining your voice and share of the market will be a difficult task if your marketing efforts stop.
Another authority on the subject is veteran copywriter Craig Huey from Creative Direct Marketing Group, an accomplished California marketing company. Craig Huey, President of CDMG, has shared valuable insights on this issue on his website and in webinars. On March 19th, 2020, he wrote “…if you continue your marketing throughout the disruption, you’ll most likely be the one to emerge as the dominant player when normalcy returns to the world”.
Putting your marketing to a halt will only be a detriment to your brand and finances. In times like these, consumers are looking for trust. If you maintain success during troubling times, consumers will view your brand as trustworthy.
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