In a down market, don't give your business away

In a challenging business environment, companies typically do two things: slash marketing budgets and reduce staff. As a result, marketing and customer service employees are normally the first to go. Wages are reduced, therefore attracting or holding on to lesser qualified personnel, and new hires are stopped. When this happens, just as you might tell a customer, “you get what you pay for.”

While actions such as these have become the first line of economic defense for many companies, a bigger, long-term view would indicate these areas of business have a significant impact on a company’s potential to weather the storm and to come out on the other side. Because of their significance, marketing budgets and customer service should come under intense scrutiny. They should work harder and smarter to serve the company’s interest, not eliminate to the company’s possible detriment.

First let’s discuss marketing. Many organizations make the disastrous mistake of cutting their marketing budget as soon as hard times hit. WRONG. While they should re-examine the use of their money, it is certain death to totally pull out of a market. Competitors are waiting in the wings to fill a vacated position.

History has proven that companies who stay in the market during hard times weather a down market far easier than those who withdraw. The reason for this is multi-fold. In highly competitive environments, market share moves around, and in newly competitive markets, market share is up for grabs. The consumer considers their choice with new values and perspectives; therefore, they gravitate toward brands they may never have considered before. Their routine changes and so do their brands/suppliers of choice.

Without being in the market to fight for new or sustained share, companies will automatically lose this business. Additionally, because so many brands leave the market, there is organic growth to be had.

Finally, slashing marketing budgets is a reactionary approach to something that requires much consideration. The fact is, most companies may have a new product/service that would fare particularly well in a challenging market and a new product/service must have marketing support.

Now is the time to review and rework marketing budgets with a new eye and some creativity. Would kiosks now make better sense than radio? Would print outperform television? Would a promotion create a much-needed spike? Would public relations make more sense than paid media now? Now is the time to make marketing work better for you.

A fresh eye is also required of customer service. We have gone from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market. The buyer now reigns supreme and knows that they can and will demand only the best service. Not in at last 20 years have we seen a time that will require only the best out of customer service departments. This is no time to lose business because someone was cranky, had a bad day or worse, did not have the knowledge necessary to satisfy a customer’s needs. Companies must arm their staff and employees with the ability and the know-how. Customer service and training should be high on every executive’s list of priorities.

Better and more imaginative marketing and customer service are the answers in a down economy. You just need to make them work harder and more efficiently for you, not your competition.

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