Marketing seminars – Marketing out of Recesion

Marketing ways out of recession

I read a YouGov survey recently which showed that small businesses plan to increase their marketing budgets over the next 12 months inspite of the current economic climate.

Marketing is important for SMEs in UK as in a survey of nearly 1,000 small business owners found that 38% plan to invest more in marketing.

SME’s can be shielded from recession by reducing external costs and consolidating suppliers. Further protection can be given by bringing in-house traditionally outsourced speciality tasks, such as production of marketing materials.

The survey by YouGov reveals that only 40% respondents will bring professional quality marketing material production in-house and only a quarter said they’d be unlikely to do so.

“The survey results highlight how businesses are looking to reduce external costs through bringing printing requirements in-house, with the ability to produce professional quality print material themselves, rather than through an external supplier,” said Officejet Brand Manager, HP UK, Beth de Avila.

The survey also reveals that 79% of those businesses that advertise rely on printed and online advertising as their primary means.

Added to the information given by the same survey 40% used print as their primary form of advertising and 7% were with event based advertising.

“These results highlight how UK business owners are not panicking in their attitudes to marketing during the current economic downturn, and are budgeting for the long term as well as the short,” added de Avila.
“Previous recessions have shown that those businesses that market themselves well during fallow periods are significantly better positioned when the good times return.”

It also showed that 13% respondents spend more than 80% of the company’s marketing budget on print advertising and 27% spent more than half.

The research was conducted by YouGov and surveyed 943 micro, small and medium sized business owners from 10th – 12th June 2009.

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