Once again, this year's Presidential election will be centered around the economic state of Americans. The candidate that misses its importance won't get elected. Yes, the war is a critical issue, and I'm not in any way denouncing the importance and honor of soldiers, but the war is not an impactful issue to consumers' minds when compared to the pain we feel when hearing the click- click- click of the fuel pump reminding us of the sky-high price of gas. Frankly, the price wouldn't be nearly as painful if we didn't have that click- click- click reminder in our faces as our money steals out of our wallets; that audible measurement is very real.
This economic reality is significant to every business, because we are seeing the classic mistakes that are made by businesses every time the economy goes bad. First, people stop marketing. Yes, advertising and marketing of all types are being cut back in droves because people mistakenly think that they can save money for a few months on their marketing "line item," and this is much easier to do than laying someone off. The unfortunate reality is that you don't get a painful click-click- click reminder immediately when you stop marketing, but you will get it a few months down the road when the business that your marketing was bringing in STOPS. Now you really have a problem.
For those "fortunate" to have had bad marketing in the first place, they do get to save money, but that is a different issue entirely. If you have bad marketing, you have a different set of problems. However, if your marketing was working and every time you conducted a campaign you made a return on your investment that generated a profit, then cutting the marketing program is dumb.
Marketing campaigns are about one thing...creating a campaign that generates a direct response that you can test the result of and that, when tested, shows that you made money. When you have that type of marketing campaign, you should never stop it until it stops making you money. In fact, the more you can spend on that campaign, the more money you make; so, stopping a successful campaign in a bad economy is exactly the opposite of what you should do. This is why many companies fail when economies dip. It isn't the only reason, but it is a common one.
If you don't have a marketing campaign that you have tested and that always brings in reliable money, then let's talk about it and get one going. It really is the single most important thing you can do for your business, both now and in the future. If you would like our help with this, please call us at 800-980-1626 to make an appointment today. We look forward to hearing from you.
