Marketing in a Down Market

The new year is off to a turbulent start on the stock market, which usually cues the number crunchers to slash the marketing budgets. Here are three reasons why that's a bad idea.

1. Customers, clients, constituents, and donors still need to find you. If they can't, they'll find your competitor.

2. Your competitor's presence will be more visible. If you suspend marketing operations, there will be one fewer voice in the marketplace that your competitor has to shout over.

3. You'll need twice as much energy to relaunch. Say you batten down the hatches to weather the storm, and in the meantime, the marketplace changes because your competitor has a more dominant presence. Now you'll need to expend more money, more effort, and more resources to recover. That's not progress. That's problem solving.

It's better to maintain a consistent effort, even if you have to cut back a bit. Send your newsletter three times a year, rather than quarterly, for example, but fill it with valuable information.

It's also smart to modify your approach. Maybe more or different people need your services in a slower market. Or, the value proposition of your services may tell a different story in recessionary times than in bullish ones.

Finally, it's always more challenging to do more with less. Some of the greatest and most creative artists do this all the time. Get creative.