BY DAVIDWARSCHAWSKI


GreatMarketing for D T


HE CURVEBALLS THAT WALL STREET keeps throwing are enough to drive an investor crazy. For many, the pressure is too unnerving and they choose to back


out. Similarly, many businesses choose to sit on the marketing sidelines until the economy rebounds.


Neither is a smart strategy! Just as any wise investor knows


that the best opportunities are found in downmarkets, the savvy marketing executive knows that this is the perfect time to proac- tivelymarket their product or service. Recessions are periods of opportunity that can be taken


advantage of or that can take advantage of you.Make certain you knowhowto capitalize on the greatmarketing opportunities pro- vided by a recessionary period. The following are four reasons you shouldmarket during a down economy and howto go about doing it best:


1. Compounded problems today =more expen- sive problems tomorrow When budgets are tight and fewermembers of your target


audience arebuyingwhat you’re selling, even fewerwillbuy if you stopmarketing to them. By cutting yourmarketing spend, you risk compounding your troubles today and your bottom line will shrink even further tomorrow. Not onlywill you sell less than if you had kept yourmarketing


steady, but you’ll cede your core customers to your competition. Thatmeans you’ll have to spendmore time,money and energy in the future towin themback. According to “How Advertising in Recession Periods Affects


Sales,” by the American Business Press, “the findings of the six recession studies to date present powerful evidence that cutting advertising funds in times of economic slowdowns can negatively impact sales andprofit levels on a short-termandlong-termbasis.” In fact,when the sales of companies that cutback their adver-


tising expenditures during the 1974-75 recessions were com- pared with companies that did not cut their ad spend, the statis- tics were startlingly clear. The companies that did not cut their advertising


budgets had


increased their sales bymore than 200% two years later, while sales fromthe companies that cut their advertising had gone up barely 50%.


Recessions are periods of opportunity that can be taken advantage of or that can take advantage of you.


2. Cut through the clutter fast Marketing is often the first thing to go when businesses cut


back on spending during tough economic times. For the smart business, this is a godsend! The usualmarketing clutter and noise fromcompetitors areminimized, leaving you with amore captive audience. Even if you invested significantly in marketing to your core target audience for sixmonths and didn’t sell a thing during that


30 JANUARY 2009 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com


period, it still would be a smart investment.Why? Because the incredible amount of brand awareness and brand preference you will create among your core target audience will pay huge divi- dends after the economy recov- ers. To boot, think about how much ground your competition will have tomake up. That’s how Wal-Mart cor-


nered the market in 2000-2001 with its “EveryDay LowPrices” slo- gan. It’s why Intel launched its “Intel Inside” tagline during the early 1990s recession, and why Procter & Gamble pushed Ivory


soap during the Great Depression. It’s also why, in 2002, P&G’s president saidheplannedtodomore advertising andtake advan- tage of the lower prices for Super Bowl advertising so they could capturemoremarket share.


3. They are spending – somake it on you! The truth is, in a down economy, peoplewill still spendmon-


ey –butonly if you convince themthat spending theirmoneywith


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