1. Advertising when times are tough
While operating budgets should be carefully scrutinized, it is important to be
aware of a basic misconception that has historically affected businesses that are
struggling- that the advertising budget should be the first to go because it
appears to be the least painful item to cut. This is a dubious and deceptive
strategy.
Initially this tactic will seem to work. Here's why: if you cut your advertising when
times are tough, consumer awareness of your local business (which you built
through past advertising) will not go away overnight. "Fine," you think. "I'm saving
some money." At first, you will assume that your advertising cutback has not hurt
your business. But while your marketing sleeps, your customers are slowly
switching their preferences, often as a result of seeing your competitor's ads. By
the time you awake, you discover that the cost of recapturing your lost market
share will be far greater than if you had maintained an offensive marketing
posture all along. The saying is true: "In an economic downturn, the best defense
is a good offense."
Now is the time to take a good look at your marketing plan. Do you want to reach
12,700 young adults at Vanderbilt University age 18-29 with a MUCH HIGHER
level of discretionary spending power than the market average? How about
many of Vanderbilt's 24,000 faculty and staff? What about the 21,000 local
alumni, and what about parents?
Now that all issues of the Vanderbilt Hustler can be read by going to
Insidevandy.com and clicking on the PDF icon out to the right of the home page,
our readers now include Vanderbilt's faculty/staff, as well as parents and alumni.
The issue of whether to advertise during an economic downturn has
been studied for decades. Previous studies published in the Harvard
Business Review, the American Business Press, McGraw-Hill, and many others,
covering downturn periods from 1925 to the present, have all reached similar
conclusions: Companies that market products aggressively during economic
downturns typically reap a major sales advantage (average 3.2 to 1 ratio) over
their pessimistic competitors who panic and fall back into a defensive posture.
When your business is sagging, it is tempting to take a "wait and see" attitude
and that is what some advertisers do. Success requires a certain element of risk.
"If we want more roses we must plant more trees!" said George Elliot, eloquently
summing up one of the oldest and most priceless secrets of achievement. So, if
you want more business, it's time to plant those seeds in the mind of your target
market. Advertise with Vanderbilt Student Media and watch your business grow!
For more information on the advertising opportunities available through
Vanderbilt Student Media contact George Fischer at 615-310-3336 or
george.h.fischer@vanderbilt.edu