Opportunities from this Economy

Increase your advertising and marketing

In an unhealthy economic environment, it is well-documented that one of the healthiest things businesses can do is increase advertising. Consider these findings:

• McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 businesses during the severe recession of the early ‘80s. The results were illuminating. Businesses that maintained or increased their advertising during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth than the businesses that did not. By 1985, the companies that were aggressive advertisers during the recession had increased sales by an average of 256 percent.
• ABP/Meldrum & Fewsmith’s study of the recession of 1970 found “sales and profits can be maintained and increased in recession years and in the years immediately following by those who are willing to maintain an aggressive marketing posture.”
• Buchen Advertising analyzed its dollars and sales during the 1949, 1954, 1958, and 1961 recessions. It found sales and profits decreased at companies that cut back on advertising. Moreover, after the recessions had ended, companies that had maintained their ad budgets continued to excel at the expense of those who had cut back.

During challenging economic times, your business needs all the exposure possible to drive business your way. And, as competitors weaken or fail, you want to make sure your business remains visible to potential customers. In Orb Audio’s case, the partners’ decision to sell exclusively online also meant that they had to become experts at online advertising, something that has actually increased in this economy. “In fact,” Sigel says, “we have now started to do some brand advertising, with the assumption that some people who see these ads may not be buying new speakers for a few years. But we believe in advertising, so it makes long-term sense.”

This is portion of the article written by Darren Hardy and published in Success magazine, July 2009.