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Marketing – to spend or not to spend?
Cutting your marketing budget is tempting in this
cost-saving world, but it will win you long-term pain, says
Liz Jackson, managing director of Great Guns Marketing
Most businesses are feeling the pressure of the despite the bad news in the media. Henry Ford’s
economic climate and adjusting their cost base to famous quotation is as true in today’s economic
match reduced revenues. Think about this though. If environment as it’s ever been: “if you think you can,
you invest in marketing when your competitors are or you think you can’t, you’re right”. We are often
disinvesting, you have a major opportunity to grow told that recession is a lot to do with confidence.
your market share. A key role of the business leader during the tough
times is to keep their people’s heads up and do
The statistics everything they can to focus on, and build on, the
When the long awaited recovery comes, you’re in successes.
pole position to capitalise on the re-energised Seeing the company invest in marketing and
market. A McGraw Hill survey amongst 600 winning business from its competitors is a great
companies following the recession of 1981-82 way of doing this. The major benefit, though, will
showed that companies that continued to spend come with the upturn.
during the difficult period grew their sales by 275
per cent through the 80s. Those that cut their The opportunities are out there
marketing budget grew by 19 per cent during the Marketing isn’t only protecting the long-term.
same period. There are many companies across the UK, and the
Nobody is disputing that times are tight and we world, that are still doing really well. Those
all need to carefully manage (and probably reduce) companies are continuing to spend in all areas of
our costs. The statistics above, though, present a the business, buying the products and services they
strong argument for not making marketing the need to keep thriving.
target for cut backs. If it is wisely planned, executed and funded
marketing is going to enable us to continue to keep
Raising budget our 2009 new business pipelines full. Couple that
The Government’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee with an obsession to delight current clients and to
scheme to help companies through the hard times maximise repeat business, and there’s a recipe to
is available to companies up £25 million turnover, thrive through the credit crunch.
as a loan for ‘viable businesses’. This is a £1.3bn ejackson@greatgunsmarketing.co.uk
programme and BBC Radio 4 reported that only
£20 million had so far been loaned under this
scheme. Why not look at this as a source of
marketing funding for your business?
Liz Jackson
It has also been widely reported that HMRC are
Managing director,
being more lenient for VAT and PAYE bills. This
Great Guns Marketing
could provide another avenue to release money for
your marketing activities.
Keeping positive
Continuing spend on marketing can give a clear
signal to your people that the business is doing well
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