One of the first things that businesses and organisations cut in an economic
downturn or recession is their marketing/advertising and public relations budget.
This is a natural reaction as it is a cost that can be reduced before the
unpleasantness of redundancies.
But when you think about it this does not make sense in the longer term.
The whole reason for spending money on marketing communications and publicity is to generate business opportunities and boost
income.
By following this logically – a reduction in marketing communications
will result in lower revenues. If budgets are cut further a business risks a further reduction in income and it becomes
a vicious circle with further cuts becoming necessary – but they now have to be done from an even lower base.
The reality is that it is when trading conditions are at their toughest
that a company really needs to build its income with new business opportunities.
The businesses that emerge stronger from a recession or downturn are those
that appreciate that if they can maintain their profile in the market whilst their competitors are cutting back on PR and
marketing. It is the smarter company that has a better chance of emerging from a recession to dominate their market.
Maybe the answer is to spend budgets more wisely?
Ask yourself what form of communication with your market and your customers
is going to give you the greatest return on investment? Allocate your spend wisely.
Public Relations can certainly form an important part of the marketing
mix as it helps to spread key messages. A well planned and well executed aggressive public relations campaign can be
a hugely efficient method of communicating with your target audiences.
Just remember – it’s when your rivals go quiet that you should
be at your most vocal!
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