Recession or no, don’t make the mistake of thinking that an economic downturn means that you should put the brakes on everything you do that’s considered “marketing”.
Marketing is sometimes construed as a dirty word. So let’s clean it up and consider the most basic of all marketing principles – communication.
Every business feels the symptoms of economic strife a little differently. In my neck of the words, for instance, clients are super focused on targeted, economic methods of communication. Which is a beautiful thing, because that’s what we advocate anyway. But there are also those people who say “Amber, I’m halting all marketing spending right now.” Yikes.
Especially for growing businesses and non profit organizations, there’s a lot of noise in the market on a GOOD day. When it’s a dog-eat-dog environment where every last customer or donor or volunteer is a gem (they should be anyway, but that’s another post), I think the worst mistake you can make is to stop communicating.
Marketing, done well, is a dialogue. It’s an ongoing communication with your clients and those you wish to be, and you need to be talking to be heard. In fact, when the frantic sales cycle is cautious and slowed, it can be an incredible time to spend developing those relationships with your customers and reminding them of how you’re there to help them, serve them, provide them with a valuable product or service. Now is not the time for the hard sell – it’s the time to have a conversation and be great at the most important part of all – listening.
And the bonus? Great dialogue with your customers doesn’t have to be expensive. Pick up the phone. Launch a blog. Send out a handful of handwritten notes.
How can you spend a few minutes building relationships with your customers and clients so that when the sales cycle picks up pace, you’ll be top of mind?
