Marketing Strategy

Part II: The Importance of Marketing in a Downturn Economy

Part II: The Importance of Marketing in a Downturn Economy

You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em
Know when to fold ‘em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you’re sittin’ at the table
There’ll be time enough for countin’
When the dealin’s done”
— Lyrics from "The Gambler"

As many of us shelter in place at home and worry that a recession is almost sure to come next, our first inclination might be to fold our marketing cards and walk away. But I can point to scores of research that actually proves the importance of a continued marketing effort during an economic downturn (see a sampling of links with more data at the end of this article). While it is natural for companies to regroup and take a closer look at all of their expenses and overhead at times like these, it is also imperative to consider the long-term ROI that can be achieved through your various expenditures. As you evaluate your marketing efforts, I recommend that you keep the following thoughts in mind.

1. Leverage your marketing and PR efforts as a strategic asset.

A popular adage says, “When times are good you should advertise. When times are bad, you MUST advertise.” Rather than viewing marketing as an expense to be cut during a downturn, it should be viewed as an investment. Staying in front of your customer keeps you top of mind and gives your customers the reassurance they are looking for from known brands.

2. You should maintain or even increase your marketing spend.

Research about the impact of advertising during a recession started with the Great Depression. Roland Vaile published his perspective in the Harvard Business Review in April 1927. He found that companies that increased their ad budgets during the recession grew sales much faster than their rivals, both during and after the downturn. But companies that decreased their advertising spend saw sales decline both during the recession as well as the following three years. Since then, there have been dozens of other studies to reinforce these findings. All of them found that companies who maintained a higher level of marketing during a downturn not only survived it, but came out in a stronger, more profitable position in the upswing.  

3. You could leapfrog the competition. 

By continuing to market proactively when others are cutting back, you’ll be gaining a competitive advantage. Because some companies simply don’t have the fortitude to continue marketing, this means that your marketing dollars will go farther and be fighting against less clutter. And when the market rebounds, your competitors will ultimately be caught playing ‘catch up’ and will be frantically trying to increase their marketing spend when everyone else is too.

The benefit of staying present and top of mind will compound over time, making your brand even stronger in the eyes of your customers. Not only will you stay ahead of your competition, but you’ll be better positioned when conditions improve. In other words, proactive marketing during a recession really pays off.

Some proof behind this Proof Point:

https://www.marketingweek.com/mark-ritson-marketing-spend-recession-coronavirus/

https://www.academia.edu/5726873/Turning_adversity_into_advantage_Does_proactive_marketing_during_a_recession_pay_off

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2019/09/05/when-a-recession-comes-dont-stop-advertising/#38f830a84608

https://www.millwardbrown.com/docs/default-source/insight-documents/points-of-view/MillwardBrown_POV_MarketingDuringRecessionToSpendNotToSpend.pdf

https://www.ocreativedesign.com/when-times-are-good-you-should-advertise-when-times-are-bad-you-must-advertise/

Check out Part I of this blog series to learn how your brand needs to shift due to the Coronavirus.


Angie Yarbrough - Stratistry.jpg

Angie Yarbrough is a co-founder and Principal at Stratistry where she leads the Brand Strategy practice.

Email | LinkedIn


Part I: How Your Brand Needs to Shift Due to the Coronavirus

PART I: How Your Brand Needs to Shift Due to the Coronavirus

If you weren’t prepared for COVID-19, you’re certainly not the only one. And managing your brand in the midst of this crisis will take a mix of patience and flexibility. If handled appropriately, there is a definite opportunity to rise to the occasion and have a measurable impact. The following provides our thoughts for how your brand needs to pivot to achieve this kind of impact.

Brand Message

It’s safe to say that you, your brand and/or your company likely feel under fire. Consumers are nervous, and may be quick to harshly judge any entity that they feel is trying to profit off this pandemic. Because it’s important to ensure that your message carries the right tone, we offer a few observations for your consideration as you plan your ongoing messaging and content strategy during this time:

  • Be transparent. Customers are looking for authentic leadership from the brands and companies that they care about.

  • Be empathetic. They want reassurance that you care about them and are taking the right steps to address this crisis, from implementing new cleaning procedures to waiving change and cancellation fees to updating your products or services. And don’t forget your employees. They are not only the front line of your brand, but customers will want to know that you care about their safety and well-being too. We’re all in this together, and brands need to react accordingly.

  • Avoid the hard sell. Now is the time to provide them with more value. Consider how their needs have shifted and how your message could reflect that. Is there a deeper brand story that you can share now that they actually have more time to engage with it? Or can you entertain them during this stressful time with a quiz, game or contest?

Paid Advertising and Media Selection 

Unless you simply have no other choice (or your brand happens to be Purell), now is not the time to go dark with your communications or marketing spend – we’ll share more about this in our blog post next week. In the meantime, however, we can say that it does make sense to re-evaluate your paid advertising plans and media selection. Your channel mix and ad spend likely need to shift to accommodate the evolving consumer behaviors caused by this pandemic.

For example, a March 2020 GWI survey showed that 39% of US consumers say they are reading the news more frequently, while 29% say they are checking social media more frequently. And 28% say they are shopping more online in light of the virus. The folks at Russell Research are also keeping an eye on these changing media consumption habits. They recently shared the following relevant results from their ongoing COVID-19 Monitor:

Russell Research in a March 2020 survey showed that Digital and TV have increased attention while podcast attention declined.

Russell Research in a March 2020 survey showed that Digital and TV have increased attention while podcast attention declined.

As we all shelter in place, it appears that our massive decline in commuting is negatively impacting podcast listening, while TV and web attention have increased. As the situation continues to evolve, you should also be monitoring for any change in consumer behavior on the ads you are running. And keep in mind that you may need to pause the ads, shift your budget or even revise the creative based on the response you see.  

Product or Service Offering 

Invention is often born from necessity. Restaurants have arguably been one of the hardest hit business segments due to the Coronavirus. As they navigate the need to shift to a fully takeout and delivery model, they have also found new ways to shift their product and service offerings to better meet the needs of their customers (and to ultimately stay afloat):

  • Pre-packed quarantine staples – Restaurants are offering a variety of items from coveted fresh produce to in-demand non-perishables like toilet paper

  • Freezer foods – From bread dough to soups to individual servings of signature dishes, restaurants are filling the gap that consumers have found in empty grocery store aisles

  • Take-and-bake family style – Consumers are looking for easy ways to feed their families, and restaurants are answering with a variety of take-and-bake family style dishes

This kind of innovation should be carried to other business categories as well. Brands should be asking how their customers can use their current products or services in a new way. For example, a food manufacturer could share kid-friendly recipes that can be made at home as a family. Or a brand in another category might think of a way that their product or service can serve as a stress reducer or at least a distraction.

Brands like Orange Theory have shifted quickly over the past couple of weeks to bring operations fully digital. They determined that the best way to bring their in-gym interval training to their customers was by developing at-home workouts that utilize commonly found household items and are delivered through their app. Social media sentiment for this brand shift on their part has been wildly enthusiastic. As with these examples, being ready and willing to make these kinds of changes can create connection and community with your customers and brand advocates.

We know that much change is likely to come from the current disruption to our everyday lives. Experts are projecting that new norms and adaptive behaviors will be long-term and far-reaching. But taking the right steps to build your brand and community now will not only help you succeed in the short run – they may just set you up for continued success as well.

Check out Part II of this blog series to learn the importance of marketing in a downturn economy.


Angie Yarbrough - Stratistry.jpg

Angie Yarbrough is a co-founder and Principal at Stratistry where she leads the Brand Strategy practice.

Email | LinkedIn


How consumer behavior shapes your marketing strategy?

How consumer behavior shapes your marketing strategy?

Listen to your customers (whether through secondary research partners or your own primary research) and build a strong relationship with them before your competitors beat you to it.

Top 3 Reasons You Should Consider Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency

If you have a successful business today, you know that having a meaningful and differentiating online presence is table stakes. Once you’ve established that solid online presence, you also have to effectively market it in order to fill your pipeline. As businesses grow, they have to decide what the tipping point should be for hiring an outside digital marketing agency. Frankly, there are many tipping points that will cause a business to hire a digital marketing agency. It could be that the business' current digital marketing strategy is leading to declining growth with the right prescriptive action unclear. Or the business may have outgrown its own capacity or desire to manage the digital marketing strategy and execution in-house. But whatever brings you to the tipping point, I believe the following are the three top reasons you should consider hiring a digital marketing agency.

  1. Expertise

    Assuming that you pick the right agency, you’ll gain access to a team of experienced and qualified experts. Not only will they be current on the latest relevant trends in the ever-changing world of online marketing, but they also have likely worked on projects similar to yours in the past. They’ll bring fresh thinking to your challenges and the ability to help you stand out against the competition. Ultimately, they’ll help you build the right online marketing strategy based on a host of factors including your target audience, your industry, the competition and what makes your brand compelling.

  2. Measurable Results

    A good digital marketing agency helps you test, learn and refine your marketing plan based on the results it garners. First, your strategy should be firmly rooted in the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) you are hoping to measure. Then, that strategy should be continually put to the test and evaluated on a monthly basis. A monthly review of those KPIs should be provided through the tracking and reporting of the right metrics and data. The best agencies will partner with their clients to build strategies that are both measurable and allow for this continued refinement and collaboration.

  3. Resources

    Many businesses try to handle their marketing efforts internally, fearful of the cost to hire an outside agency. However, the cost to hire an in-house marketing professional can be even more substantial. They have to be able to research, develop, write, monitor and even analyze your marketing plan. An outside agency should be able to provide all of these services for a fraction of the cost you would pay for a qualified candidate. In addition to that, hiring an outside agency should also free up the time and attention you’ve likely been spending toward building and cultivating that ongoing marketing presence. After all, you have plenty of other priorities upon which to direct your attention. This will free you up to do what you do best–running your business.

A perfect illustration of these three reasons can be found in the form of our very first Stratistry client. As the CEO of a mid-sized engineering firm, he had been running his own Google Ads campaigns, spending a substantial amount of money every month. However, he wasn’t sure how to track the effectiveness of the ads, and hadn’t had the time to update his company website in more than 5 years. He hired us to help refine his brand positioning, update his website, implement tracking for his Google Ads campaigns and improve his marketing ROI. At the end of the day, I believe that’s the ultimate benefit of hiring a digital marketing firm–they have the expertise and ability to drive measurable and profitable results.

The Stratistry team loves nothing more than helping a new client better manage and execute their digital marketing strategy. In fact, one of the first projects we often undertake for a new client is building or updating their website. Visit this article from DesignRush for more on how to choose a web design agency. We’re actually proud to to be recognized as one of DesignRush’s top web design agencies. Contact us to find out how we can combine the art and science of marketing for your brand.


Angie Yarbrough - Stratistry.jpg

Angie Yarbrough is a co-founder and Principal at Stratistry where she leads the Brand Strategy practice.

Email | LinkedIn


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