Don’t Give Up on Your Marketing

A harsh reality given by my college professor: when a business isn’t doing well financially, the first thing to go is marketing. 

I graduated from Drake University with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication in 2009 at the end of the Great Recession. When it came to finding a copywriting job, there were next to none open. Not even mediocre internships. My professor’s words came true - everyone was scaling back, especially with their marketing, and the job market for my industry showed it. 

Now, don’t take this as a “poor me” type of post, that’s not the direction I’m going here. If anything, it’s more “poor them” as in the business owners. The follow-up to that reality the professor noted was the businesses that get through hardships and thrive after are those who don’t stop marketing, at least not completely.

And unfortunately, many business owners don’t know the value marketing gives their business. 

I’ll be the first to admit that marketing your business when the finances aren’t strong doesn’t seem like the logical choice. Here’s the thing - if you’re not keeping your business top of mind through marketing, you’ll be forgotten. I’ve seen that firsthand - people forget about what I do when I haven’t been posting on social media, networking around town, and keeping up on my blogs and emails. Trust me when I say my business has suffered every time it’s happened.

This is why I always encourage my clients to at least invest (time and/or money) in creating emails like the bi-weekly, small business marketing emails I send out. It can cover a few bases: 

1. Stay top of mind: no matter the frequency, you’ll always be in their inbox. Even if they don’t always read it, your name will be continuously imprinted for easy recollection.

2. Shows expertise: sharing your blogs as well as industry news or simply tips, tricks, and advice. Remember that just because it seems simple to you, it’s not necessarily common knowledge for everyone.

3. Referrals: when you’re top of mind, they’re more likely to pass along your information to someone who might need what you do. 

4. Builds trust: if you’re giving them relevant information and aren’t simply selling to them all the time, they know you’re a good resource and feel like you actually care. ​

When things get tough, like a recession or pandemic, marketing is one way to help keep your service trucks on the road (which is a marketing touch point in itself) or register (physical or digital) ringing.

You might be thinking “but I need to watch my spending!” That’s why I’ve talked about having marketing as a line item in your budget. It’s better to have something budgeted, even if it’s your time, and be able to adjust it than not having it or trying to scrape together something like bad leftovers. 

Like a friendship needs to be nurtured, so does your relationship with your customers.  Marketing is all about building those relationships not simply telling people how well you do what you do or how amazing your product is (that’s advertising). Provide them with helpful and relevant information or they’ll slowly start to tune you out, giving them a reason not to use your services again or recommend you when the time comes. 

If COVID or any of the recessions have taught you anything as a small, local business owner, let it be that marketing works, even if simply word of mouth. Find ways to keep communicating with your customers and they will help see you through the hardest times!