Five Top Reasons to Market NOW

1. Your competition is hiding. The landscape is not as crowded. That means your own marketing has a higher probability of getting noticed. In fact, in your product category, you may be the only company out there who is in the face of the consumer! In the past, you would have to wonder how to be different. Now all you have to do is show up.

2. Now is the time you need the business. When the economy is weak, your business will only get weaker without marketing. It is a vicious cycle. Out of sight may mean out of mind…and out of mind can mean out of business. If your competition is hiding, right now you can have a larger share of mind. Familiarity breeds preference, and preference leads to long-term customer loyalty.

3. Customers are hunting. When the economy dips and consumers move into a state of fear, product purchases are scrutinized and loyalties are challenged. That means you can position your product as a need, not just a want. People are looking for value and meaning. Now is the time to be very pragmatic and honest with your marketing. People are looking for products and services they can trust. That means while they are hunting and evaluating, you need to be marketing and not hiding along with your competition.

4. Attitudes are shifting. What was important yesterday may not be so important in today’s environment. That can indicate new opportunities for your product or service. Take a survey…do some focus groups…find out what is driving the needs of your core customer. How has it changed? Where are the new opportunities? How must your message change? How can you reposition the competition and make your brand more relevant for the next 12 months of economic hardship?

5. Marketing never stops. If you stop your marketing, you are wasting the brand equity you have developed. It is not a start and then stop process. Your customers need evidence of product performance and a reason why your product is absolutely the best in the category. When a consumer makes a budget cut, you don’t want to end up on the cutting room floor. That’s why marketing doesn’t stop because the economy is bad. It is exactly the time you need to turn up the volume.