Marketing in a Crisis: Don’t Stop, Just Audit

If you haven’t noticed yet, your marketing company really, really wants to tell you that you should keep spending on marketing.

As a video marketer, I’m cheering on that message. As a small business owner, I’m not so confident.

After all, the words “uncertain” and “unprecedented” have been thrown out a lot. Is that really a time to keep marketing?

Well…yes, actually.

But it’s also time for trimming the fat. Where are you spending on marketing right now? Is there anything you’re doing that’s just not showing ROI?

Keeping in mind that some strategies are long-term and don’t show ROI right away, now might be the perfect time for a marketing audit.

Don’t fire your marketing company, but bring them back to the (virtual) table. Get them to share their honest opinions and evidence of the value that they’re providing.

This shouldn’t be a time to grill anyone or make someone prove their worth as a marketer. But it should be a good opportunity to put your heads together and plan for the future.

Encourage your team that you’re not looking to stop marketing, but challenge them to assess whether everything you’re doing should be done right now. Work with them to cut back on what’s not working. Maybe even ramp up your efforts in the areas that are showing promise.

The Case for Marketing in a Crisis

Lots of people are likely to back down. And because of that, your costs are likely to drop across the board. You might continue on doing the same exact thing you’re doing today and find that it costs you less. Keep that in mind before you cut down too much.

Media buying is likely to be easier than ever before. If you have the budget to spend on marketing, maybe don’t let up just yet.

The Case for Cutting Back

Times are absolutely uncertain, and that means your marketing’s ROI is uncertain because hardly anyone has seen anything like this before.

If you stop marketing today, you’re going to be way behind when everything starts returning to normal. But you probably already know that.

But is this the time to experiment with new strategies? Maybe! Or maybe not. Only time will tell.

It’s perfectly okay to look for ways to cut costs. Be careful about choosing cheap talent, but if you’re willing to at least pay for premium marketing help, work with those people to determine how they can be thrifty with other expenses on your behalf.

We’re all in this together, and your marketing team should be sympathetic to your situation. I’m not suggesting that they should be working for a cut rate price, but ask them to limit the purchasing they might be doing on your behalf. Ask them if there’s a smaller scale project you can tackle right now before you dive in head first. 

Basically, ask them to be considerate of where you’re at. Vulnerability isn’t always cool in business, but in a time like this, we can all appreciate it. 

Your marketing company’s just as uncertain as you are about their future, and they should absolutely be your #1 advocate. But first they have to know where you’re at so that you can work together for the long term.