Should I reduce my media spend in a weak economy, keep my current budget or increase my budget? 

I will give you some reasons why companies and businesses should continue advertising their services and products and with a steady presence, giving customers confidence in a time when they need it most.  Specifically with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic, your company's marketing message will need to change tone showing your customers you are sensitive to the downturn and the affect it's taking on your community but you need to keep your brand in front of them.  Customers will react unfavorably, even negatively if your company doesn't use a sensitive tone when addressing your current business and when reassuring them you care about how this is affecting them.  You also need to react in a timely matter to be authentic and gain their confidence and trust. It's finding the right balance of public relations and 

advertising.  Point out what you can provide as services and products that will help customers today and reassure them you will be there now and tomorrow. 

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Reasons to Advertise:

 

1. Continuing to send messages to your current customers and future customers will allow people to trust in your brand and continue to connect with you.  This may not be in person but they will email, call and continue to check your website for updated information regarding hours of operation, services provided and plans of adapting to the current and future situation.  Keeping your business website updated with current products and service and responding to comments in a timely matter will affect the future of your business.   

 

2. In times of uncertainty, your competitors may think this is a time to reduce overhead costs by cutting their advertising spend which is reducing their presence in the market.  This is a great opportunity for your business to gain market share in your area of business by keeping a steady presence and increasing awareness.  It shows strength and keeps your brand and products on top of mind which will all work to your advantage when the current hardships are over.

 

3. Projecting stability sends a message of staying power and if all of your current products and services aren't offered it's a good idea to try and introduce new products or services to show your customers your can adapt and still be there for them in challenging times, you aren't going anywhere and it shows the resilience of your brand.

 

4. The cost to advertise on most mediums will drop during a weak economy which creates a buyers market and you can often receive 2 to 3 times the amount of advertising exposure for the same media budget in more prosperous times. This gives you a great opportunity for branding when maybe before your media budget only allowed you to spend money on point-of-purchase ads.  This added buying power also gives you the opportunity to spread your same advertising dollars over several mediums when previously your media budget wouldn't stretch far enough, this allows you to tap into more audience share.  This can make it affordable for first time advertisers too.

 

5. You don't want to be out-of-sight, out-of-mind!  If your customers forget about you because you pull back or stop advertising and your competitors increase their media spend it will affect your current customer base and potential new customers.  You want to keep your company's name and services on the top of you customer's mind.  Continue to build a relationship of confidence, reliability with a caring and sensitive tone and your company will stand out and be the leader in your industry or field of business.  This increased or constant voice and market exposure will increase your market share when the economy returns and you will ultimately come out on top with increased customers, solid customer retention and this will be produce long term financial profit for your company.

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