{"id":3384,"date":"2021-10-03T17:12:31","date_gmt":"2021-10-03T21:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jeffgreenfield.com\/?p=3384"},"modified":"2021-10-03T17:12:31","modified_gmt":"2021-10-03T21:12:31","slug":"nows-not-the-time-to-cut-back-on-marketing-heres-what-to-do-instead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jeffgreenfield.com\/nows-not-the-time-to-cut-back-on-marketing-heres-what-to-do-instead\/","title":{"rendered":"Now\u2019s Not The Time To Cut Back On Marketing. Here\u2019s What To Do Instead"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know what you are going to think when I say this, but don\u2019t cut your marketing.<\/p>\n

I get it \u2014 business has not yet fully rebounded, costs have gone up, the labor market is tight, inflation is eroding spending power, and the latest Covid variant is adding even more uncertainty into the mix. Slim margins have gotten thinner. Cutting marketing is an easy choice. But don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Why Cutting Ad Spend is Dangerous<\/h2>\n

For many consumer product categories \u2014 whether it be apparel or electronics or even dining out, the sales cycle is not a question of days or even weeks but months. Your customer may have walked into your store today, but the consideration of that decision may actually have begun months ago, with the consumer just finding the right time and opportunity to act upon it.<\/p>\n

A tiny percentage of marketing and advertising has next-day turn-around impact. Even sales promotions, with special savings offered in the coming week, still require an existing predisposition to your business on the part of the consumer for a conversion to take place. The sales promotion only works as a last-mile type of incentive. The consumer has to be already interested in buying from you for it to work.<\/p>\n

Consider, for example, auto dealers. The sales cycle in that industry is currently 90 days out<\/a> but may actually begin months in advance of that. So, if you are an auto dealer, marketing and advertising really only begins to bear fruit after engaging with that consumer over most of the preceding year.<\/p>\n

Businesses that withdraw from marketplace visibility have a much harder time, and find it far more expensive in the long run, to regain customers once they start re-engaging, with market share declining<\/a> even after they resume advertising. So, while cutting back marketing spend can help address some short-term bottom-line issues, it will create significant challenges to long-term sustainability.<\/p>\n

And of course, disappearing from the market now can have major implications for the holiday sales season, which is almost upon us, especially as the consumer considers transitioning to even more digital buying.<\/p>\n

How to maximize ad spend efficiency<\/h2>\n

Instead of pulling back, think creatively about how to maximize the dollars you do have so that you can produce the greatest return.<\/p>\n