Choosing to outsource your marketing in a recession is a relatively easy decision. When times are tough, companies everywhere tend to cut back on budgets and business investment. It’s all about managing costs and saving where you can. Turning a fixed expense, like a marketing department, into a floating or variable expense, by outsourcing your marketing, is a great business decision.
Outsourcing your marketing not only saves you money, but is the best way to survive the economic downturn and ensure your company is well positioned to capture growth once the economy recovers. It’s what you do now that will ultimately pay huge dividends later on.
Perhaps the best example of this is when Walmart launched their “everyday low prices” marketing campaign in the midst of the 2001 recession. This aggressive marketing approach continues to pay dividends. Walmart reacted to consumer malaise and fear by confronting those fears with a simple promise of competitive pricing.
Sounds relatively simple doesn’t it? Well, companies have increased their market share, captured new customers, and excelled in every recession since the great depression. It’s simply a choice, and one that becomes that much easier when you take the time to look at the benefits of outsourcing your marketing in difficult times.
The mistake most often made by companies is to cut so much from their marketing plans, that those marketing plans which remain provide little to no benefit. Once a company starts to cut back on their marketing plans, it becomes a foregone conclusion that many, especially small businesses, will do away with their marketing altogether.
While most companies are cutting and slashing budgets, the smartest companies are actually increasing their market presence with renewed marketing initiatives. In fact, some of the world’s best and brightest enterprises welcome recessions in order to capture new customers and increase market share. They see opportunities everywhere, and are able to capitalize in even the worst of times. Perhaps this is the biggest reason why outsourcing marketing during recessions is not only a good cost cutting move, but makes good business sense as well.
Outsourcing marketing is not drain on your profits, but a profit driver
Marketing is the single most important aspect of your business. Marketing brings every aspect of your business together in one cohesive plan. Marketing provides sales and customer leads, real time information, a continuous feedback loop on what works and what doesn’t, and positions your company as a knowledge leader. Indeed, marketing is your business.
Why would any company negate the one function that actually brings in new business and customers? Fear is the answer. They allow short term thinking and fear to override their long term objectives. Don’t allow fear to derail your long term objectives.
In difficult times, companies are looking for strong partners. They need companies willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with them, ready to tackle any problem. This is your company’s opportunity to become that much needed market leader. In deciding to pursue outsourced marketing, there are some essential benefits that immediately come up.
Outsourced marketing firms have the expertise you need
Marketing experts bring years of experience in all kinds of industries, in good times and in bad, and from all different perspectives. They know what it takes to not only survive, but thrive in difficult times. They have the market experience your company may simply lack. They know what works and what doesn’t, and can save you a tremendous amount of time and money by showing your company what to do, and when to do it. Perhaps this is your first encounter with a downturn in business. Do you really want to take this opportunity to learn from your mistakes, or would you rather avoid mistakes altogether?
Outsourced marketing firms turn a fixed cost into a variable cost
You may have already made cuts across the board in all your company’s internal departments. However, outsourcing your marketing is an extremely inexpensive way to maintain your market presence, and indeed improve it, at a much lower cost structure. You now have a variable cost structure without the added overhead.
Outsourcing your marketing provides essential competitive information
Do you know what your competition is doing during this crisis? Have they started their own aggressive marketing campaign with the ultimate goal of stealing your customers? It is absolutely essential that you know what your competition is doing, how they are approaching and servicing customers, how they are pricing their products and services, and the general condition under which they operate. Have they alienated their customer base with questionable decisions?
This may be your company’s opportunity to seize on your competitor’s mistakes by capturing new customers and increasing your market share. Reputable outsourced marketing firms, such as GottaLotta Marketing, have that knowledge and can show your company how to capitalize.
Don't blame the economy, get aggressive with your marketing
Now is the time to come up with new and inventive ways to service and sell to customers. It’s in times like this that innovation points the way to success. It’s easy to throw up your arms and admit defeat. It’s far easier to say and do nothing, than to roll up your sleeves and tackle the problem head on. Marketing experts won’t allow your company to simply give in to a bad economy. They will provide the much needed impetus to continue and fill your pipeline with one important customer and sales lead after another.
There is no denying that a bad economy can force you off course. It’s often hard to think about anything other than simply making it through in one piece. However, the best way to handle a bad economy is to tackle it head on. Take the time to understand that every company’s initial reaction is to cut back on spending. It’s natural and understood that controlling costs is an essential first step to surviving a recession. The mistakes most companies make is to allow those cost cutting measures to impact their service, sales and marketing initiatives.
Outsourcing your marketing is not only cost effective in a bad economy, but will also position your company as a market leader, increase your market share, and position your company for growth once the market recovers.
