Top Reasons to Not Cut Marketing During Tough Times

Things getting tough?  It is true when businesses are facing tough times, the first thing most businesses do is pull their marketing budget. But is it a wise decision?

Studies have shown that in previous recessions businesses that continued to invest in marketing saw growth in their businesses while those that pulled their budgets saw a decrease in sales. From the early 1900s until today, history has shown that effective and thoughtful advertising can help your business increase sales no matter the recession. For example, during the 1923 recession, a study published in the Harvard Business Review (April 1927) showed that “the biggest sales increases were by companies that advertised the most.” To keep that trend going, a study of the 1949, 1954, 1958, and 1961 recessions by Buchen Advertising Inc. showed that “sales and profits dropped for companies who cut back their advertising” and once the recession cleared, the companies who were cutting back actually fell behind their counterparts who had maintained their ad budgets.

We have seen capable business owners starting and stopping their social marketing campaigns because they are looking for the next best thing or trying to cut costs somewhere.

But this is not a long term answer and here are the reasons it will make things worse.

#1 How Will People Find You?

In case you have doubted them, facebook algorithms are smart. If you are ready to watch your organic reach take a nose dive by all means stop posting. Facebook produces one of the best ROIs for marketers when it comes to social ads. Given that your customers are already on social, there’s every reason for you to be there too.

It’s Simple. If they can’t find you – they can’t buy from you. 

#2 You Will Lose Credibility

Businesses who have invested in social advertising have also had their target audience established. If this target audience notices that you haven’t been posting, they could think that something is wrong with your business; or even worse since they don’t see you posting they don’t think about you at all. (This brings us to reason #3)

#3 People Will Forget About You

What makes you better than your competition? What makes you different? Oh, your customers forgot. Social marketing conveys key messages with clarity and purpose for your target audience. Without consistent messaging, people will forget about you and you’ll lose brand awareness. Strong brands are your consumer protection policy. “Troubled times” is not the threat; troubled marketing thinking is the threat.

#4 You’ll Lose Word of Mouth

Loyal customers love to talk about their favorite brands. Word of mouth isn’t a new concept, it’s powerful. Social recommendations give that testimonial a microphone. In a campaign launched by GoPro, they found that 66% of consumers were more likely to give a referral after receiving social recognition. How will a testimonial be used effectively if not online?

When times are tough, stick to your marketing plan

Every time you cut your marketing, you’ll end up spending more money and time getting it back than if you left your strategy in place. It can be incredibly stressful when times are tough and budgets are shrinking, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on advertising. Like we mentioned earlier, there is proven success in staying the course.