Consistent Advertising Is Essential, Smart Strategy During a Recession

Consistent, continuous advertising, marketing and sales efforts are essential to building and growing a successful venture. Gaps or lapses tend to cause an inordinate amount of damage. It's like deciding not to water your orchard for a while. Long-term damage can result.

McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 firms in 16 different industries from 1980 to 1985. It found that business-to-business firms that maintained or increased their advertising expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher revenue growth - both during and after the recession - than those that did otherwise. In fact, "aggressive advertisers" during the recession saw their revenue rise 256 percent during the five-year period over firms that let their advertising expenditures slip.

In analyzing the 1970, 1974-75 and 1979 recessions, research firm Meldrum & Fewsmith discovered that firms keeping an aggressive advertising campaign maintained and increased their sales and profits. In January 1982, the Cambridge-based Strategy Planning Institute released a study showing that businesses increasing their advertising efforts during a recession gained an average of 1.5 points of market share.

Ad Cutbacks Convey Weakness
A recent study by Ad-ology Research found that advertising appears to play a key role in consumers' views of how a business is doing. In fact, it found that 48 percent of U.S. adults believe that a lack of advertising by a retail store, bank or auto dealership during a recession indicates the business must be struggling.

Don't Kill the Message, Change It
If any industry knows the importance of consistent advertising, it's the auto industry. Despite its terrible predicament of late, it's still advertising. It knows that if it stops advertising, it'll find itself in even worse shape. But it IS responding to the changing economic climate. It's rolling out campaigns such as "Lose your job and we'll make your payments for six months."

Other types of businesses are doing the same. Restaurants are promoting economical selections and health clubs are urging you to "bring a friend."

Savvy Business Owners, Advance!
To be sure, now is not the time to retreat. In fact, it's prime time to advance. Your competitors are almost certainly attempting to save a buck by pulling back their ad spending. Don't fall for similar, faulty logic. Instead, it presents a prime opportunity for you.

Think of it as a long-term investment. Yes, it may hurt, but you're in it for the long haul - to win. Find a way to continue advertising, and trust that you'll get a handsome return on your investment.

Consistent, continuous advertising, marketing and sales are essential to building and growing a successful venture. You should not allow gaps or lapses. If you're lucky, some of your competitors will become unwilling or unable to continue to invest in these important ways during challenging economic times and thereby provide you the opportunity to gain on them - if you stay the course.