I’m fed up with hearing about petrol prices, credit crunch, job losses and economic downturns but the truth is we can’t avoid the reality of the situation.

An uncertain climate can breed its own sense of doom simply because we fill in any gaps with a natural inclination to “fear the worst”.

Without wishing to appear too smiley in the face of adverse trading conditions for many I would advocate a positive outlook in such times.

If your business is basically sound, costs manageable and customers happy, the last thing to do is start cutting back to protect your profit margin.  Invariably in times of recession (and yes I’m old enough to remember working through interesting times in the past), the Finance Director sharpens the pencil and looks at what they may consider expendable expenditure.  Expendable? What they really mean is areas that they either don’t fully understand or worse believe can be managed by fewer, less experienced individuals.

Classic targets are I.T., Marketing and Sales.  In the short term a payroll saving can be seen but in the medium to long term lack of IT investment and strategic input will offer far greater concerns.

The role of the marketer in these times becomes critical rather than optional.  Many successful businesses traded out of recession to new heights whilst their competitors rationalise expenditure and keep collective heads down awaiting the “all clear”.  When the economy picks up the business that took a bullish approach will be at the front of everyone’s mind whilst others will need to spend considerable sums to re-establish the brand and profile.

Interestingly I facilitated a strategic day for a firm in the north of England recently and part of their SWOT analysis identified “recessionary conditions” as an opportunity.  Instead of seeing such businesses as commercial pariahs we should learn that we can all find positives from difficult trading conditions.  Simply forcing us to re-engineer our business model is no bad thing and certainly a task where you’ll benefit from an experienced marketers and IT support.

If competitors are drawing in their marketing guns at this time think of how much impact you could make by launching a new product or service and giving the media some much needed positive copy.

Of course in such a brief article it’s easy to offer generalisms such as this however in practice the logic for any ambitious, proactive business is to look outward to identify new ways to generate revenue rather than look inward and ponder who goes first when you wield the hatchet.

Tips for marketing through a recession

• Resist the pull to reduce prices – good customers will remain as long as you continue to provide the right level of service.
• Stop marketing spend on unfocussed campaigns and focus on profitable sales.
• Target your competitors (customers) as they may be struggling either due to over extension or poor management.
• Protect your image and business by looking at the intellectual property that supports the brand(s). 
• Consider divesting yourself of any brands that may be of more value to a 3^rd party.
• Continue to seek outstanding candidates who may see the writing on the wall at competitor firms.
• Re-evaluate supplier relationships to improve budget efficiency.

As a marketer with over twenty years experience clients sometimes mistakenly think that I have the answer to most marketing related issues and expect me to pull out of my briefcase a solution to every creative opportunity.  That’s flattering but clearly wrong.

The best you can hope for is an application of clear business process harnessed to a good idea; and that marriage bringing home the rewards.  Whilst I have no fear in applying the business process and on occasion have originated the odd golden nugget of an idea, I am by no way a fount of perpetual ideas.

In fact, if anyone suggests that they are capable of solving all your marketing/ business problems it could fall into the category of “too good to be true” because no one has all the answers.

If you are in need of inspiration you could do far worse than look closer to home.  Over the years my clients have created fantastic strap lines, impactful adverts and wonderfully original logos simply by having someone believe in their own ability to be creative and that others wouldn’t laugh at their efforts.  Sure, a little guidance is sometimes required but more often than not a small amount of encouragement and permission to “do it themselves” is all that’s required.

Don’t get me wrong, advertising and design agencies can provide superb input and take a germ of an idea and breathe life into it but equally those within the business are better placed than anyone to understand the real needs and to be able to communicate that to their target audience.

What is absolutely critical is that the finished product fits the bill and doesn’t look “handmade”, “cheesy” or even worse somebody else’s idea in the first place!

No one has exclusive rights to the creative process, we all possess the ability, the trick is to apply the most appropriate methods to find it. 

An added benefit is by involving your business in a creative process such as brand naming, copywriting, logos etc. you provide a real opportunity for them to participate in taking the company forward.  This can be achieved through a variety of mediums:

• Staff newsletters
• Competitions
• Away day meetings
• Department meetings
• Intranet
• Surveys

Why is this so important?

Ultimately your greatest marketing opportunity lies with your own workforce.  Consider how many people each of your staff interact with on a regular basis and how they may all be potential customers.

If you can engender a positive attitude to your company and its activities through your own people others will soon get the message and the business will continue to grow.