Marketing in a recession

Inside corporate America, marketing is often seen as just a sub set of sales or worse, as a bunch of liars. The Dilbert comic strip has expressed the feelings that a lot of people have toward marketing departments.  Given this perception, it's no wonder that I know so many great colleges who have been laid off, much more so than in other business disciplines.

The perception of marketing as just necessary when sales are booming or as a support function for sales misses the point. Marketing is about building brand, establishing a company's reputation and driving sales. It's not just a support for sales people but a strategic approach to guide customers through the purchasing funnel and deliver the right message through the right media at the right time.

The companies today that are cutting back their marketing budget are short sighted. There is tremendous opportunity to gain market share during a recession. Some of the greatest brands around, including Apple, we're built during recessions not too different from what we're experiencing now. Instead of just cost cutting across the board, companies that want to take advantage of the opportunity will look to make their marketing investments more efficient with a focus on market share. They'll also see the opportunity to snatch up some great talent that may not have been available to them during boom times.

Most companies however just cut across the board because they're too lazy to really develop a strategy and get into the detail of how they'll respond in these times. Look for new brands to be established and for companies and brands that are willing to go beyond just arbitrary cutting to rise above. Once the storm has passed, I'm looking forward to seeing which ones saw the opportunity.

- Paul Herring