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How to Avoid Marketing Panic in Turbulent Times

Recessions, wobbly business cycles, supply and demand fluctuations, high inflation, and various market crises are just some reasons why the economy could find itself on shaky grounds. As you read this, you might even recognize some of these issues in the present moment, or worse yet… you’ve started worrying about your own business.

A woman with a yellow long sleeved shirt on working on a laptop with graphs on a computer table with eyeglasses

The important thing to remember now is this: do not let your business spiral into a state of “marketing panic.” During marketing panic, a business looks at all the marketing channels currently and previously active, and often times – in a state of panic and disorientation – decides to cut spend across the board.

At a glance, this may sound like the prudent thing to do, since anything marketing related might not be deemed as a necessary expense. But, we’ve seen time and time again that when businesses cut back on marketing, future leads and sales tend to dry up. On the other hand, when companies continue to market during downturns, those are the ones who recover more quickly, and are ahead of their competitors when the trends generally lift.

There is an excellent article and 12-minute podcast from UPenn’s Wharton School that was published during the 2008 recession. It explains the reason this statement is true: “When the going gets tough, the tough don’t skimp on their ad budgets.”

In fact, a McGraw-Hill Research study that analyzed 600 companies and their marketing spending during an earlier downturn “concluded that those firms that had maintained or increased their advertising during the recession … boasted an average sales growth of 275% over the next five years (while) those companies that cut their advertising saw paltry sales growth over the next five years of just 19%.”

What people caught in marketing panic do not realize is that the world around them has changed. Things are not as they used to be. This is when marketers need to take a deep breath and a big step back in order to accurately assess their new environment. Marketing tactics that might have worked in the past may not work in the present, signaling a good time to test new and emerging ways to reach prospects and customers. In other words: evolve, don’t devolve. Do not panic.

Direct Mail Retargeting is one example that fits the mold of a novel approach, particularly in times when the economy is slowed down and household spending is under great scrutiny. The key for marketers is to find the right target audience, versus general leads that may or may not convert.

Since most people who visit any given website end up leaving without buying or contacting the business in question, that’s a lot of lost opportunity. At Modern Postcard, we match about 50% of unconverted website visitors to mailing addresses, and mail a postcard to their homes the very next day. It’s a great way to target prospects that are already interested in a company’s product or service. In marketing, we call these prospects “low hanging fruit.” Learn more.

It’s important to remember, that despite a recession for example, consumers haven’t stopped being consumers. People’s needs, wants and interests haven’t changed; the way they go about their lives has, and therefore, the way we used to go about doing marketing needs to change too.

One of the strengths of Direct Mail Retargeting is how it combines the urgency of touching your recent website visitors with the response-power of Print Marketing.

To learn more about how and why Print and Direct Mail engages the brains of your customers, read this FREE e-Book, filled with useful reasons and data showing why print marketing is so effective in capturing attention and driving engagement.

And when ready, our Direct Mail Retargeting team is only a phone call away at 866-959-8365 to get you started for as little as $50 a week.

Call a Direct Marketing Specialist at 866.959.8365.
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