How do you market in tough times?

Take advantage of the opportunity. 

Economic downturns are Darwinian events in the marketplace.

The weak perish and the strong and agile survive – and even thrive.  In the present downturn some companies will disappear or be swallowed up by rivals. Others will emerge stronger than ever....

...Cut advertising? When Netflix began to make really serious inroads into Blockbuster's customer base in 2005, Blockbuster cut its $154.2 million advertising budget to $44.7 million. No surprise that Netflix grew from 4.2 million subscribers then to 7.1 million now. How'd the ad cut work out for Blockbuster? In 2007, they closed 500 stores and saw a $33.4 million profit turn into a $125 million loss through the third quarter. So what did they do to turn things around? They cut 16% more out of advertising in the last quarter.

So what should a marketer do?  Take advantage of the opportunity.  Yes, the opportunity.

To quote The Wall Street Journal, ". . . companies that maintain or increase their advertising spending during recessions get ahead. A less crowded field allows messages to be seen more clearly, and that increased visibility results in higher sales both during and after a recession."

A study by the American Business Press Association showed that companies that maintained their advertising spending during  downturns enjoyed average sales increases of 22% and average profit increases of 16% even during the difficult economic times.  When  the economy bounced back, they had a significant lead over their competitors. 

Although The Wall Street Journal and the American Business Press Association share a strong interest in maintaining advertising spending, the Harvard Business Review doesn't. And its study had the same results...