Samui Design Ezine

With all the talks of difficulties to expect in 2009, it is easy to understand that business owners may be thinking of cutting costs this year. However many expert studies have proven that when times are hard, businesses shouldn't be tempted to cut down on their marketing budget but instead step up their marketing campaign.

Here is some advice given by expert business consultants (extracted from a number of leading business magazines) that may help you to thrive in the current economy:

• Don't cut your marketing budget, increase it and let your competition cut theirs. When you increase your spending, you increase your share of voice. If your competitors cut back, your message grows even stronger.
• Establish your marketing strategy early on so as to avoid wasting money advertising the wrong message in the wrong place to the wrong audience.
• Reassure your customers. Implement marketing strategies that allow buyers to feel they are minimising risk by doing business with you.
• Nurture existing relationships. Keep in touch with your existing customers and let them know what you have to offer.
• Maintain continuity to sustain awareness. Remind people frequently about your Brand or they'll forget you.
• Step up public relations efforts. Be sure to maintain a media presence with smart, effective PR programs.
• Don't "cheapen" your marketing campaign by trying to save on creative or production costs. Your customers will notice and worry about quality. This is a time to stress quality and value.
• Exploit digital channels: use targeted emails, build quality websites and utilize search engine marketing to its full potential. With new digital media you can now deliver campaigns that are more cost effective, measurable and targeted than ever before.

Rather than being frightened by recession, see it as an opportunity to gain market share from your competitors.

Remember this advice from Ed McCabe, founding partner of Scali, McCabe, Stoves advertising agency: "All great enterprises move forward in a recession, and the weaklings move backward. The unwise will cut back on marketing. The smart people won't."