Now is the time to invest in marketing. (Copy)

Now is the time to invest in marketing.

We are living in uncertain times. Not only are we dealing with a post-pandemic fallout, but we’re also experiencing an energy crisis, the impact of global warming, and an ever-changing geopolitical climate.

In times like this, when things get tough, it’s a natural reaction to want to conserve spending, cut back on marketing budgets, reduce advertising spend, and minimize or remove your consumer-facing interactions to reduce the financial outlay. The thinking being ‘when things get better, we’ll pick up from where we left off, our customers will understand, they’re loyal to us.”

The reality is that this is not the case. We live in a fast-paced, highly digitized, over-saturated world today. A recent study found that the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2022. Knowing that it’s even harder to retain consumer attention, it would be a mistake to think that your customers are going to sit tight and wait until the economy takes a turn for the better so you can start marketing to them again. 

History has shown time and time again that during a downturn in the economy, businesses actually benefit from an increase in their marketing and advertising. While other brands dial back their marketing spend and, in turn, their customer presence, an astute brand will optimize the downturn and increase its marketing and advertising, building a stronger consumer base, sticking by its customers through the downturn, and staying relevant by creating strategies sympathetic to the customer’s situation, thus ensuring that the brand remains at the forefront of their minds.

Customers might not spend as much or as often with the brand during this period, but when the economy lifts, they align themselves with these brands because they have seen that the brand cares about them as a customer.