Marketing Budgets Roller Coaster in 2009
September 1, 2009
Recent article from EMarketer about the relatively deep marketing budget cuts most U.S. businesses experienced during the first half of 2009 – 62% of their respondents reported reduced spending on marketing their product or service from January – June. Many of them report they are planning to reinstate them (at least partially) by the end of the year.
Opinions on the best ways to successfully guide a business through an economic downturn are passionately held and never seem to change. The tired debate about whether or not to cut marketing budgets can be likened to a Stones concert – it’s really loud and the tunes haven’t changed in about 40 years (love the Stones, by the way). As soon as you hear the earliest warnings of a recession, the rehashing begins. Marketing experts will spew forth article after article touting the possibilities of increasing your share of a weak market through maintaining an aggressive marketing budget. Business owners will respond with financial laments of a decreased client base and empty order forms. We know you’re right, they will say, but something’s gotta give. And, inevitably and without variance, the budgets will be buried underground until the sun once again shines upon the American workforce/consumerism, and business owners will once again reap the rewards of employing smart marketing strategies.
I’m not ragging on biz owners here – believe me, I understand the concept of “something’s gotta give” as well as the next guy. Sometimes you know something will work but simply can’t make it happen. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers for not having enough money. As we SEEM to be crawling our way out of the recession, however, I highly encourage you to take a long look at your books and begin putting every possible penny toward re-establishing your marketing budget over the next few months. IF you can find it, SPEND it. I promise you it will work harder for you in marketing strategies than sitting in your bank account.
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