Marketing in a Recession: How to Weather the Storm
Marketing during a recession can increase brand awareness, visibility, reach, and engagement. But only when you have someone with advanced marketing experience.
Gee Ranasinha
November 4, 2022
Marketing
By all accounts, we’re standing by a cliff-edge, poised to enter a global economic recession. It’s no surprise that businesses are seeking ways to mitigate the impending damage. For most, this manifests as a choice between reducing costs or increasing efficiencies. And this is where many small business owners make a critical mistake.
In times of trouble, marketing is often the first expense to be cut—and the last to be restored. But why would a savvy businessperson do such a thing? To abandon a mechanism so vital to value creation, driving awareness and generating sales opportunities?
There are two primary reasons:
- Misconception about Marketing: Many business owners still view marketing as an expense rather than an investment. They perceive it as optional, inefficient, unattributable, and ‘unscientific’ compared to the cause-and-effect nature of other business units. Self-made successes without formal marketing efforts may lead them to believe marketing is not essential.
- Inexperienced Marketers: Often, marketers are hired without proper qualifications or education in marketing. This is due to either a lack of budget for experienced hires or a misunderstanding of marketing’s scope. Their inability to move the revenue needle leads to their dispensability, leading to either lateral shifts or terminations.
The Dangers of Inexperience
The prevalence of inexperience in marketing has several reasons:
- Cost-Effective Hiring: From an HR perspective, taking on someone with little to no marketing experience is seen as a low-cost, low-risk hire. If they fail, the loss is minimal.
- Strategic Control: Employers often assume control of the marketing strategy and narrative when hiring inexperienced individuals. They direct focus, tactical implementation, and output. However, without proper knowledge or skills, these efforts are more likely to be based on guesswork than proven strategies.
The result? Time and money wasted on inefficient tactics while competitors gain market share.
The Realization: Marketing is More Than Social Media
Hiring an amateur to perform the tasks of a professional marketer is akin to putting blindfolds on both parties. Inexperience doesn’t understand what it doesn’t know. People unfamiliar with marketing often equate it with posting on social media or creating TikTok videos, overlooking its depth and complexity.
It’s as if marketing itself has a marketing problem.
Navigating the Recession with ESOV
Differentiating between essential and optional business costs is crucial during uncertain times. While reducing marketing expenditure might seem tempting, making strategic decisions now can lead to significant revenue gains when conditions improve.
Marketing academics discuss something called "Excess Share of Voice" (ESOV). The concept behind ESOV is that during a recession, amplifying your brand’s voice—even if it’s just a whisper—can help you stand out from the crowd and capture market share.