It's Time to Sink, Swim or Fly

Businesses all around the world have been turned upside down as employees are forced to operate remotely, health has quickly become a top concern for all of us and the economy is struggling. 

Yet, despite all of these very real problems, the biggest issue for the business community is mounting fear... fear over health concerns, the possibility of being unemployed, uncertainty and whether or not we'll  be able to survive these unprecedented times.

As a result, many businesses and consumers alike have started to cut costs, pause spend and retreat from day to day operations.

The first budget cut when facing times of adversity is often marketing, and for the majority of business owners, this will come as no surprise. 

However, making cuts now will be the biggest mistake you make this year and will certainly impact your business for many years to come. 

Here's why:

Cutting your marketing budget solves one problem and creates another

It’s easy to see all the money that you’re spending on marketing as an unnecessary expense when the payoff is delayed or unquantifiable. You may gain more email subscribers, social media engagement or website visitors as you direct more attention and money toward promoting your business, but the impact of those metrics on revenue often isn’t immediate.

Borrowing money from your marketing budget to pay a bill or save for the uncertainty of the future, temporarily solves one problem, but it creates another.  In order to thrive, businesses need to constantly be attracting new customers. When that stops... you find yourself in the position of being quickly forgotten. Potential customers stop seeing you... stop hearing from you... and once the crisis is over, they move on to work with the business that stayed top of mind. Proper marketing could have helped to ensure you were that business.

You miss out on a prime opportunity to gain market share

During times of economic and social crisis, chances are that your competitors will pull back their marketing  efforts out of fear. A decline in demand for advertising on Facebook and Google means the cost of ads go down and you have an opportunity to get more for less. 

If you’re looking to dominate, hold firm on your marketing budget right now, or even better, look at opportunities to increase your budget in areas where you’re looking to grow or where you’ve previously seen the best results. 

Can’t increase your budget? For small businesses, you may choose to increase efforts by networking more, creating more content or simply being visible in a positive way.

You create a dangerous "perfect storm" around your business

Millions of people each day are searching for news updates, engaging with social media and turning to tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Medium and YouTube  to get information and support.

Yes, your marketing efforts help you gain market share and make sales, but it also provides you with credibility, familiarity and brand recognition.  It builds relationships with potential new customers, keeping the pipeline full, and creates customer loyalty. 

When you stop those efforts or scale back drastically, you can create challenges for your business that ensures a difficult recovery later on. 

If there has ever been a time to have a strong digital presence, it’s now. 

Don’t cut your marketing spend, change your focus.

So many businesses will pause or cut marketing spend, without thinking about how they can change their focus first. Your current marketing strategy may not generate the same result at the moment, but instead of panicking, think about what you can do differently, think about how you can innovate and maximize your budget to create a new strategy that will help to maintain growth during this challenging time. Add a personal touch to your marketing efforts, focus on starting conversations, become the support your audience is searching for. Stand out. Be different. 

Fight back and survive.

The Coronavirus has presented what is likely to be the biggest challenge of this generation, but if you let the fear of the unknown take over, you will inevitably fail. During the recession of 2008/09, entrepreneurs and small businesses were divided into two groups… those who retreated and failed and those who fought back and survived. Which one will you be when history tells this story? Dig a little deeper and re-evaluate your target audience. Consider who they are, what they really want and what they really need. Are you the answer to their problems? Ensure you understand exactly who they are, where and what channels they are currently engaging with, and maximize marketing spend and or efforts in these core areas.

Difficult times call for difficult choices

When social and economic hardships arise in our society, it can provide entrepreneurs with a unique opportunity to disrupt, dominate and even transform your business.  Uncertainty is upon us but remember that it won’t last forever. Those who stand up and stand out are far more likely to thrive.