Tough Times Increase Pressure to Meet the Marketing Effectiveness Imperative
Published 3/31/2009
Author: Jay Milliken and Chiaki Nishino
Jay Milliken (jmilliken@prophet.com) and Chiaki Nishino (cnishino@prophet.com) are Partners with Prophet (www.prophet.com). Prophet is a global consultancy that helps senior executives more effectively use branding, marketing, and innovation to drive profitable growth.
Summary
Businesses today are hunkering down. With consumers clutching their wallets more tightly, companies are scrutinizing every budget item to maintain profitability even as revenues are flat and costs rise. And with marketing commonly viewed as a discretionary spend, it is one of the likeliest victims of the ax.
Indeed, a recent MarketingSherpa survey of marketing executives discovered cuts underway at most large firms, with approximately 60 percent of them cutting or planning marketing budget cuts in 2008. Only 16 percent are looking to increase budgets. And among mid-sized firms, 29 percent of respondents said budget cuts are being considered.
The trick in this kind of environment is to cut wisely, not wholesale — or possibly even increase investment in certain areas in order to emerge stronger when the recovery occurs. Indeed, some of the most enduring and successful marketing initiatives were launched in tough times.
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