Harvard Business School Tips To Marketing Your Way Through a Recession

I've gotten a lot of good feedback on the blog thus far, but the most common criticism to date is "a weekly post does not a blog make." So, I will try and post more frequently.

Most of my marketing brethren and sistren--particularly in agencies--are fighting a tough battle in convincing their clients to maintain their marketing spend in this dismal climate. And, your client is going to glare at you when you insist that now is precisely the time you must market as much in the past--if not more. The glare is not because what you said is untrue. It's very true. The glare is because the statement:

1. Is self-serving AND
2, Asks the marketing manager to try and make a tricky sale internally.

I will be posting a series of summaries of articles from preeminent researchers making the case for marketing in a downturn to try and arm my brothers and sisters with credible information when they have these meetings with their clients.

Today's article comes from the March 3, 2008 issue of the Harvard Business Review. HBS professor John Quelch wrote an article entitled "Marketing Your Way Through A Recession." The crux of the piece is that companies should market less in a recession, they should market differently. Businesses and markets are dynamic organisms and must adapt to new environments or stimuli. Quelch's tips include:

1. Focus on Research: The goal of market research is to be able to target business more precisely. If you grow any part of your budget, make it research.

2. Modify Advertising Imagery: Riskier times create a need for the feeling of security. "Hearth and home" images play best in a down market.

3. Maintain Marketing Spending: If you are playing one-on-one against Kobe Bryant, do you cut back on your effort? Cutting marketing is cutting your competitive effort--which is exactly the last thing you need to do when more people are competing for less business.

4. Thin Your Portfolio & Adapt: Down markets favor multi-purpose products. Also, thin your product line to focus on the winners.

5. Offer Inventives to Distributors: They will be more sensitive to holding inventory so you need to offer inventives (usually in the form of credit) to keep your product on the shelves.

6. Modify (not necessarily cut) Pricing: Price promotions--bundles, flexible payment terms, frequent short-term discounts--will help bring in the weary buyers.

7. Focus on Market Share: Bad times are good times if you are liquid. Efficient companies should look for strategic acquisitions that will maximize your market share now and when the market rebounds.

More to come on this topic soon. Have a great weekend everybody!