With plunging stocks, rising oil prices and mounting fear of a recession, what should most businesses be doing to protect themselves?
“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.”
Billionaire mogul Warren Buffet said that. And right now, in the market, there is a lot of fear. It may seem counterintuitive to continue spending on sales and marketing when everyone else is pulling back. With the market uncertainty and the economy on shaky ground, it is the natural inclination to reserve assets and pull back spending – but should you?
Don’t Stifle Spending – Here’s Why
Cutting spending on marketing in a recession is harmful for two reasons:
1) It pulls money out of circulation, lowers your revenue, and further deepens the economic chasm and
2) In the name of self-interest, it prevents you from capitalizing on gained market-share.
Letting fear, instead of logic, dictate decisions is one of the reasons recessions happen in the first place. Unfortunately, many people adopt the former mentality.
But as Winston Churchill once said, “never waste a good crisis.” A recession offers an opportunity to gain market share when your competitors are pulling back.
Now, I am not an economist, and don’t advise any business decisions without much due-diligence; however, what I can tell you is as a company, we have been through this before. And, lived to tell the tale! I want to share our experience with you, so if there is a recession, you can come out afterward, not only intact but on top.
Hindsight is 2020
From war tactics to economic predictions, looking back at past events can help us understand how to better prepare for future events.
In Titan’s lifetime, we had never seen anything like the 2008 Great Recession. But fortunately, now, we have that perspective. And now, we also have global pandemic under our belts.
In both instances, after the initial shake-up, there is always a recovery period. And here is what we saw during those recoveries:
- The companies that continued to invest in marketing throughout the recession came out very, very well.
- As we continued to invest in our own marketing initiatives, our business thrived – while our competitors did not. In fact, some of our best years of businesses followed the 2008 “Great Recession” – and we’re currently growing rapidly following the 2020 pandemic because we didn’t let off the gas.
Inevitably Some Will Rise, Some Will Fall
A recession isn’t something we take lightly, and certainly not something we hope for. In fact, it saddens us to advise taking advantage of a downtrodden economy. Some businesses will suffer tremendously.
But at the end of the day, we want our clients to succeed. We want YOU to succeed. And if your company is in the position to continue spending, that alone helps fuel the economy. That alone, can make the difference between your company coming out of a downturn stronger than ever, or not at all.
Following any recession, the businesses that continued to invest in marketing during a recession made successful recoveries – some, stronger than ever. We still retain many clients who have been through the 2008 recession with us. We rode it out together, and today, those companies are flourishing.
Practicing What We Preach
It is scary to continue investing when the economy is shaky. At the same time, we are not willing to risk losing ground and market-share by pulling back spending. This is why, recession or not, we will continue to invest in our own marketing efforts and outreach.
After having been through a similar scenario, and witnessing the devastation it can cause for some, and also the immense opportunity it can bring for others, we maintain a firm stance on how we will proceed through a recession. We’re going to be doing exactly what we’re suggesting you consider – continue spending on marketing channels during a recession. Because in a time when you can’t afford to lose any ground, you double down.