If you’re reading this, you probably know me; and if you know me, you probably know I’m a chronic optimist.
In the middle of Covid I wrote a book suggesting the pandemic was an opportunity for small businesses to boom. (Maybe they even did? I read this morning that the Auckland economy grew quite nicely over 2020-2023.)
At about the same time, I wrote a surprisingly well-received piece for RNZ about an ornate and rather beautiful Auckland public toilet built while we were losing (well, certainly not winning) World War 2.
Perhaps most optimistically, I founded an independent advertising and design agency 13 years ago and haven’t given up.
So, you might think I’d be joining the chorus of gung-ho voices urging marketers to spend more, not less, money in a recession.
A quick Google will turn up plenty of opinion pieces along those lines, usually backed up by evidence that (of course) supports their claims.
Give me a break.
Right now, people are doing it tough. Mortgages are expensive. Insurance is expensive. Petrol is expensive (and so, now, is running your EV). Most importantly, though, confidence is in short supply. Spending on something you can do without – whether it’s a dinner out, a new car or a lounge suite – is an act of confidence. It shows you believe that the hole that confit of duck, Tesla or La-Z-Boy makes in your bank account will be filled as quickly as it appeared, thanks to your ever-rising salary from that safe, secure job.
You’re getting the picture.
So, to convince companies facing decisions of which suppliers they can afford to pay this month so they can make payroll that they really should be investing in expensive brand advertising, requires a level of optimism not even I can muster.
So, what’s a marketer to do?
Firstly, do what all marketers should do, but often overlook when things are booming and there’s fat to hide behind. Work efficiently. Ask whether the time your people are spending is directly connected to what you need to achieve. Share your business goals with your agency (if you haven’t already) and ask what they think. Put processes in place to identify and track when you’re wasting time and money so you can do something about it.
Then do what great marketers always do. Stay close to the customer. Understand what’s going on in their lives. Think about how what you offer can make them feel happier, more secure, more confident… all those things’ families are crying out for right now.
Finally, put what marketing budget you can afford into getting your offer across in a way that demonstrates that you get it. That you’re not lunching in a restaurant while they’re bringing soup from home. That you know what it costs to catch a bus to work because you took one last week. That you understand that meeting human needs is more important than shifting a particular unit because you bought a warehouse full of them when times were better.
When things improve – and my money is on the “survive till 25” mantra being at least partly self-fulfilling – people will remember that you were there with them and shop accordingly.
So, if the spreadsheets tell you that you need to cut your marketing budget to keep the lights on, do what your customers are doing: cut it. Then use what’s left efficiently and empathetically.
2025 will be here before you know it.
