Women's Journal Publishers Heather Shafer & Pamela Rizzo

by Heather Shafer and Pamela Rizzo, Publishers

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) confirmed on December 1, 2008, that the U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007. Many economists believe the current recession will be the worst since the recession of 1981-82. Times are rough, but that doesn’t mean you should lower your advertising budget; you actually should maintain or raise it, or just advertise smarter.

A recent study by McGraw-Hill Research showed that companies that maintained or increased their advertising during the 1981–82 recession, had gains in sales in the short-run as well as the long-run. The McGraw-Hill Research study analyzed 600 companies from 1980 to 1985, and found those that advertised aggressively throughout the recession had sales 256% higher than companies who cut back on advertising.

Consumers will continue to buy healthcare services, financial services, prescriptions, food, entertainment, professional services and every other type of product or service they have always purchased. During a recession, consumers are more discretionary about how they spend their hard earned dollars. They spend more time educating themselves about whom the best provider of a product or service might be and how to find them.

Educational and informative advertising is most effective during tough times and now is the best time to get your message in front of a discerning group of buyers.

Listen To The Experts:

“Historically, PR, marketing, and advertising budgets are the first to be cut; however, that could be one of the first mistakes a business makes in
an economic crisis.” ~ CBSMarketwatch

“Although tight budgets might make cuts in advertising an attractive option, most small business experts advise against removing your company’s image from customers’ minds at a vulnerable time.” ~ Pink Magazine

Contact us at 1-888-550-7200 or at pamela@thewomensjournal.com to learn more about how to effectively tell your story and enhance your brand during this economic downturn.

“With every industry feeling the strain, my colleagues in public relations, marketing, advertising, and design all admit to feeling the pinch from clients who think these services are the easiest to cut. After all, they have to pay their electric bill, but they don’t have to pay for marketing. Unfortunately, this way of thinking is all too common, and according to the experts, just the opposite is true. Customers are being more selective than ever when deciding where and how to spend their money. So it’s imperative that business owners are putting the message out about why they are best, biggest, greenest, most affordable, most experienced, or whatever the niche in their industry. So take a tip from the experts, and think before you cut off the marketing lifeline.  Hopefully, we’ll all soon see a change and will not need to make these tough decisions at all.”

~ Pamela Rizzo, The Women’s Journal