Ah, the budget – do budgets ever make any real difference? At the end of the day, it is always up to industry to pull ourselves out of the economic problems – generally created elsewhere. Noses to the grindstone, backs to the wheel etc. etc. we fall back on tried and tested, value for money promotional activities – ie the low-cost options to sales success – options like PR and content marketing, social media and in-house newsletters.
Experience over many boom-bust cycles has shown that the best time for promotional investment is when we are in a recession – to support survival, then to speed up the recovery. Of course, a recession is probably just the time when resources are already stretched, so what is required is a relatively low cost but effective approach – a drip-drip marketing strategy that is sustainable throughout an economic cycle.
