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Zen and the art of recession marketing
Zen and the art of recession marketing
March 19, 2009
As a boy, I would try to work out cycling round-trips that were all downhill. Needless to say, it was a complete waste of time and effort. And many of our marketing responses to recession are in exactly the same spirit.
Marketers have flooded the channels with ‘recession-beating’ deals, as if this government-humbling downturn could somehow be beaten. Agencies present the recipe for ‘marketing in a recession’, which turns out to be pretty much the same as the one for marketing in a boom, but a bit smaller. Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they.
We have an innate longing for growth, creation and gain. But to mature, we have to deal with the flip side – decline, destruction and loss. If we can’t accept that ‘all things must pass’, we’ll end up with what Buddhists call dukkha – a pervasive sense of ‘unsatisfactoriness’.
I’m not saying that the recession is a breeze. Nor am I laughing off the very real suffering it’s causing. I’m simply making the case for ‘skiing downhill’ by taking the opportunities that this unprecedented period presents, instead of trying to fight it or wish it away.
It’s a bad time to make money. But it could be a great time to make friends. B2B marketing that promises customers a useful working relationship, instead of trying to persuade them to spend, may have a better chance of success.
There’s nothing wrong with cutting prices, but don’t patronise customers by taking about ‘beating’ the recession. They’re not stupid, nor will they buy just because something is cheap.
Stay competitive, but keep communicating the value you offer too – even if people aren’t buying. Companies who do this successfully are the ones who emerge from recession with a dormant but loyal customer base ready to be reactivated.
As a copywriter, I’d make a strong case for writing as a key recession-marketing tool. Instead of splurging on media exposure, why not pick up a pen and quietly revisit your value proposition in the light of the new economic reality. You might turn up some great new marketing angles – or even ideas for more far-reaching changes that could help you go with the flow instead of wasting your energy swimming against the tide.
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Comments
The current economic crisis will bring about many changes. I believe it is important to understand that any change represents an opportunity for positive growth and development. People who market on the Internet have an excellent opportunity to profit from the recession.
[...] highlight just how quickly businesses are prepared to slash advertising budgets in this uncertain economic climate. On a more positive note, there was a rise in internet advertising spend, with a 17.3 per cent [...]
Good read, thanks for sharing!
I think it can be easy to jump on the band wagon with the recession busting, while what we should all concentrating on is ensuring that we still deliver a good product.
Coming out of the recession, which we will eventually do, all of the recession busting companies will soon find themselves struggling to justify a return to higher rates.
Taking the time to communicate with customers is an essential process of all business activity. Developing relationships with customers who might be low on spend during the recession might reap rewards at a later stage.
Additionally, there's nothing better than organic growth of a client account by simple communication. It costs little to be considerate and to stay in touch with a client.
"Bad time to make money but a good time to make friends" - so true. Great article, thanks.
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