Doing Less or More Marketing in Bad Times?

Credit crisis, stock markets that going down, threat of a recession. Good times for newspapers publishers, because bad news sells! But for us, the entrepreneurs? How should we, the entrepreneurs, look add all that negative news? Where the question may arise “Should we communicate more or less?” or in other words “Should we (the business owners) do less or more on marketing in these bad times?”

That is a difficult question to answer and the answer may vary per business. For instance, if the money of the business is tight than starting a new marketing campaign may not be in the budget.

But if the marketing plan of your business is solid and up to date, then you should keep doing what you had planned. Marketing is not for people that are impulsive. Marketing is always a long term project. Even in bad times you should never stop communicating with potential customers, at the most you could switch to action that cost less or almost nothing. Communicating much more in good times is also pointless. You should find an average that works in good and in bad times.

Marketing is like a marathon and not a sprint! Where prices not only can won at the finish line, but also during the race. Where you waste energy (money), but also enjoy from other athletes (colleagues) and supporters (customers) around you.

So start writing your marketing strategy for 2009, where you take a close look at external factors, like customers and competitors. But most of all you should take a close look at your new budget for 2009. Tune it with your internal capacity (budget, supply, people,…) of your business.