Yikes! It’s been two years since I wrote the previous post about advertising during a recession. Have you increased your advertising budget during these last couple years? Hopefully you’ve been able to take advantage of competitors’ shrinking market share and grabbed some of the pie for yourself. Officially, the Great Recession is behind us, but growth is painfully slow, especially for the unemployed and underemployed.
If you are a small business owner, you’ve probably seen your customer base erode – unless you were able to invest a little more in your advertising budget, or at least maintain your spending levels. Now is the time to allocate additional money into that budget to increase your share of voice in the marketplace. Remember, as your competitors are cutting back, you can be in a position to attract more and more of their customers, especially if you emphasize the value in the goods or services you offer.
Dozens of studies have been conducted from the 1920s to the present demonstrating that companies who have increased their advertising have seen increased sales when the recession they were in ended. A study by MarketSense during the 1989-1991 recession looked at two national brands, Jif Peanut Butter and Kraft Salad Dressing. Both increased their advertising levels and saw sales growth of 57% and 70% respectively during that period.
The same principles hold for small, local businesses. The numbers may not be as impressive because a typical small business has dozens – sometimes hundreds – of competitors and increases will be more incremental. But even grabbing a few percentage points in a local market is critical.
Focus your advertising on your primary market. Look carefully at what your main customer looks like and aim your advertising at him or her. Not only in what the message says, but the media you choose. In other words, if you run a skateboard shop, you’re probably not going to be advertising in the Wall Street Journal.
Essentially, the same principles are at work whether in a downturned economy or a recovering one. When we finally see real growth in the economy and people are back to work and looking to spend instead of save, you want to be poised to be the first place they think of – and not your competitor.
