With the current uncertain economic climate, more and more companies are tightening their belts in as many areas as they can to try and steer their business through these tricky times – marketing and advertising are areas that are really quite difficult to cut back on, simply because if you don’t remain on the front line, will those people who are still spending money, and there are some out there, be able to find you? Once the recession is over, will your name still be at the forefront of their minds?
So is it true that reducing marketing spend while in an economic crisis has a negative impact on business or does it make good business sense to batten down the hatches until the storm is over? I think it’s a double-edged sword. There are arguments for both opinions. On one hand, if you cease to market your business, it means the company essentially goes into hibernation mode – stripped of all dead-wood, with spending at a standstill, it sits and waits until it’s safe to venture out again.
Whereas if you continue to market yourselves, the marketing can be just as effective, if done in a clever and creative way; it might not necessarily bring the kind of sales totals a company experienced pre-recession but what it does do is ensure the company/brand remains in the minds of those people who will resume spending once the financial climate settles down.
So, do you spend nothing now and spend more once it’s ‘safe’ to do so, or do you spend little bits in clever ways to ensure you hit the ground running when ‘normal business resumes’…
Well if a company continues to spend during this time, then be clever – now is the time to get creative.. innovative. Stand out from the crowd, do something bold, beautiful and brilliant – a clever marketing campaign doesn’t have to be an expensive one – a simple email campaign, designed in the right way has the potential to show a sound return on investment.
And which strategies are safe strategies?
That’s the big question! Certainly ‘hot’ areas right now tend to be those which don’t cost major amounts of money but still have the potential to show good returns on investment – be it sales or increased traffic. These include:
Email marketing campaigns – with a companys own data list or we can source these ourselves on behalf of clients. Relatively inexpensive to design and send, we provide state-of-the-art, real-time reporting via our own white-label imailshot system so the client can see exactly how successful the campaign has been.
Social media campaigns – the likes of Facebook and especially Twitter are powerful marketing tools which enable the general public to really get to know a company, once a good relationship forms, people are more likely to refer you to their friends, and their friends’ friends, and so on. If you would like to understand more about the different aspects of social media, please get in touch and we will be more than happy to help: 08450 580586 or via email at steve@bigdotmedia.co.uk
Search engine optimisation – this is a huge area right now, and one which is very important while the market has slowed down. Concentrating on a selection of client-agreed keywords, our team of experts work hard, using strictly ‘white hat’ search engine optimisation techniques to improve a clients search engine rankings. This provides a fantastic, measurable long-term return on investment for the client, and a good source of residual income for the agency as contracts are usually on a twelve-month basis. Full reporting tools ensures the client can watch their traffic increase on a daily/weekly basis. If you would like to understand more about search engine optimisation and our own search engine optimisation techniques, don’t hesitate to get in touch: 08450 580586 or steve@bigdotmedia.co.uk.
At Big Dot Media we make sure our partners are up to date with the latest in digital media and we are always available to discuss digital media techniques and campaigns, either over the phone, via email or face to face. This is just one of the complimentary services we offer our partners.
One thing is for certain, whilst times are more ‘challenging’, we see it as a great opportunity to stretch our brains, think clever, get smart and show your clients just what we can achieve, together.
As always, we work on a strictly silent basis and are proud of our longstanding relationships with our partners. Want to know more? Then call us on 08450 580586 and speak with Steve McGrath, Client Services Director.
We wish you every success in YOUR business.
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