I’m old enough to have worked through a number of economic cycles. From the major 1987 crash, Keating’s “Recession we had to have” in 
1990 to the more recent Global Financial Crisis.
During “hard times” many organisations go to the wall. But others do really well.
So what’s the difference?
Mindset!
You can either be like Chicken Little who thinks the sky’s going to fall on his head or take control of your own destiny, have an expansion mindset and market the heck out of your business.
Here are some stats which prove the point going back over 40 years.
An American Business Press (ABP) and Meldrum & Fewsmith study of the 1970 recession found:
“Sales and profits can be maintained and increased in recession years and immediately following by those who are willing to maintain an aggressive marketing posture”
After the 1974-1975 recession:
“Companies which did not cut marketing expenditures experienced higher sales and net income during those two years and the two years following than those companies which cut in either or both recession years.”
McGraw-Hill Research’s Laboratory of Advertising Performance analysed the performance of 600 industrial companies during the 1981-1982 recession and found:
“Business-to-business firms that maintained or increased their marketing expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth both during the recession and for the following three years than those which eliminated or decreased marketing.”
In 1993 Management Review polled AMA member firms about their spending during the 1990-1991 recession:
“Fortune follows the brave. Firms that increased their budgets and took on new people were twice as likely to pick up market share.”
Nature abhors a vacuum.
When your competitors stop marketing, and you don’t, guess who’s message stands out?
Remember, people will always buy things they want. No matter what the economic circumstances, if it’s important enough to them, they’ll open their wallets.
The question is will they find you?
