The Recession & Online Marketing Spending

10/15/2008

A recent study conducted by MarketingProfs made one thing loud and clear – online spending is one way to weather the recession. The survey asked 600 marketing professionals how the economy was impacting their spending decisions and what their plans for the future were. Their answers were not pretty, i.e.:

Three-quarters expect negative effects on marketing to last well into 2010;

One-quarter predicted layoffs;

Just over forty percent (43%) expected lower salaries to be a cost-cutting measure; and

Almost twenty percent (17%) expect that they will face layoffs and pay cuts.

The Bright Spot: Online Marketing

To battle this bad news, more marketers are beefing up their online spending and moving away from traditional (and often more expensive) advertising. Almost all of the respondents reported that they were cutting their traditional advertising budgets.

However, some of these experts caution that while this may work for some, it could be detrimental to others. Some pointed out that the very last thing you want to do during a crisis (e.g., a recession) is to be silent. You still need somewhat of a presence – an open line of communication – with customers. This is where message adjustment comes in – in terms of medium and ideas.

For example, some experts pointed out that you may need to increase your marketing efforts during an uneasy time like a recession. If you can’t do it via traditional outlets, nontraditional outlets like online advertising come into play.

Furthermore, instead of focusing on the doom and gloom, some experts advise focusing on success stories.

The bottom line according to the marketing professionals surveyed seemed to be that companies shouldn’t stop advertising because the economy is bad, but they should revamp not only the way they get the message out, but what that message is.

For more insight visit Internet Marketing Services