A decade after the last great economic crisis, a new recession is now on the horizon. In times like these, intuition tells us to keep costs as low as possible to keep our company alive. This makes sense to an extent, but at the same time, a crisis is the right time for some investments, like advertising. As the famous saying goes, ”When times are good you should advertise. When times are bad, you must advertise.”
The crisis won’t last forever
We found out some time ago that the pandemic proved to be a remarkable business opportunity for many companies. Companies that responded wisely to the new situation will increase sales already during the crisis. They will also be better prepared for the recovery period. A hundred years ago, researchers found that companies which continued to advertise during the Great Recession of the 1920s emerged stronger. Companies that stopped advertising due to austerity struggled long after the others had already recovered.
This has a perfectly common sense explanation: if you advertise when others don’t, your message will come to the forefront and consumers will notice it more and remember it better. As a result, consumers will recognize your business even after the crisis, when everyone will be advertising again.
Opportunity for growth
The first wave of the pandemic has shown that website traffic has greatly increased as did time people spend online. Companies that are advertising intensively can increase their sales during the crisis and increase their market share while others wait for better times.
American companies experienced something similar during the 80s crisis. Corporations that maintained or increased ad-spending during the crisis experienced incredible growth during and after the recession. The ones that held back, on the other hand, felt a drastic decrease in sales.
If a company has the means and is not fighting for survival, it is essential it amps up marketing and advertising. Namely, whoever makes a smart decision during the recession and seizes the opportunity will come out stronger.
An economic crisis is not the time to stop spending on marketing and advertising, but it definitely is the time to double check your overall company strategy. We offer 3 tips on how to improve online sales!
