Why now isn’t the time to reduce your marketing spend

April 28, 2022

Reducing your marketing spend in unpredictable economic times can harm not help your business.

Janet Murray Courageous Content Podcast Headshot

In unpredictable economic times, many businesses look to reduce costs.

But is it wise to reduce your marketing spend right now?

I share my thoughts in this short episode of the Courageous Content Podcast.

Here’s what I cover:

Why some small businesses cut spending in unpredictable economic times

This is a bit of a sensitive one…but I’ve seen a few online business owners talking about this recently (so my sense is it’s not just me!).

I’m seeing lots of business owners who seem cautious about investing in marketing training/support for their businesses right now (or certainly it feels like more than usual).

And I get it.

There’s a lot of scary stuff going on in the world at the moment – and food & energy prices are rising…news reports about an impending recession.

But does that mean we should stop investing in the training/support we need to grow our businesses?

Absolutely not.

But it’s what some business owners seem to be doing.

How cutting marketing spend could harm not help your business right now

For example, I was having a conversation with a friend who wants to start using email marketing to promote their events (because social media isn’t getting them the results they need).

They have a small email list but it’s pretty engaged. And when they DO send out emails, they make sales – they just want to know how to make more.

But they’re scared to invest a few hundred pounds in getting better at email marketing when they (a) could easily make back that money in a couple of emails (b) save MONTHS trying to figure stuff out an expert could teach them in a few hours and (c) make thousands more in the long run.

So not investing in further training/support could potentially lose them revenue.

Sharing this because I know it can feel scary to invest in training/support for your business in unpredictable times.

When actually it’s times like now when we ought to be thinking about how we can invest MORE in the right training/support for our businesses.

While your appetite for risk in business can impact on your growth, I’m not talking about taking silly risks and/or buying online programmes you don’t need.

But in unpredictable economic times, investing in high quality products/services that help you implement things you don’t know how to do – or need to do better in your business – and do it fast – it’s actually a smart thing to do.

And it’s what big businesses do – Coca Cola and Singapore Airlines are just two of a number of big brands mentioned in a Harvard Business Review article on this topic by two leading marketing academics (I’ll link to it in the shownotes).

What to prioritise in your marketing budget right now

What you can do is look at how you can help your customers/clients – perhaps offering payment plans or easier ways to pay. And additional advice and resources.

What’s not smart is wasting months trying to figure out stuff someone else could show you how to do – or do for you – in a matter of hours.

Especially when it comes to things that will help you make more sales in your business.

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