Recessions are natural things. They’re what come after growth periods. You still need to function as a company – perhaps a smaller company – and you still need marketing. In fact, a recession can be put to good use in marketing. Just as your competitors are ducking for cover, you have a tremendous opportunity to make your limited marketing dollars work a lot harder for you.

1. Stay visible. If you need to cut your marketing budget, cut it in half, but not entirely. If you don’t have enough budget to cover a high-frequency advertising campaign, consider advertising in targeted electronic newsletters to subsets of your audience. If you can’t cover all of your vertical markets, cover the highest potential markets. But stay in front of your customers, and continue to build the value of your brand.
2. Cut trade shows dramatically. If you’re having trouble, so are your customers. The first thing they’re going to cut is travel, particularly to trade shows. Instead, look to webinars and targeted e-mail to get in front of customers. If trade shows are a must for sales, keep one major show in each of the three key geographic markets (N. America, Europe, China/Asia), and eliminate everything else.
3. Work the PR. In print magazines there will be fewer opportunities for pr coverage, because ad pages will be down, and with them editorial pages. But electronic media is another thing. This is where publishers will try to make up their lost revenue, so they will keep their portals and electronic newsletters full of current information. Send your key publishers new product information every month, along with other news on your company and its markets. Dialog with key editors regularly by phone or e-mail, letting them know that you’re still actively marketing. Send them an occasional technical article, and watch their published editorial calendar for opportunities to be included in “round-up” articles written by their staff.
4. Dispense with peripheral audiences. Ask the question, can this audience buy or specify my product/services? If they are only “influencers”, save them for when the economy picks up. If they are a future market, save them for the future. Normally, marketing is about long-term growth; in a recession, that horizon shortens considerably.
5. Sharpen your message. Make every phrase count – this is what we do, this is how it’s better, this is how you place an order. Avoid language such as “improved industry solution” and “multiple applications.” Spell it out in specific language – make it easy for the customer to buy.
6. Try eDirect Mail. Using a publisher database or your own list of qualified prospects, set up a schedule of electronic mailings to promote specific products. Nothing fancy --frequency is more important (about every 3-4 weeks). Make them easy to load, easy to read, and BRIEF. Hyperlink to specific pages on your web site where customers can download detailed product information.
7. Energize your sales staff. It doesn’t do you any good to continue to market if your sales force, depressed about a drop in commissions, is sewing defeatism. Show them your new marketing, teach them the new language, and give them a shot in the arm.
8. Above all, be a bright spot. When others are talking doom and gloom, talk about the future, about steady growth, about new products to address new requirements. Let the market know you are in it for the long haul, good and bad, up and down.