March 12, 2009

Marketing in a Recession: Getting a Bigger Piece of a Smaller Pie

There is always something to be learned from history, either from mistakes or successes. With the current state of the economy, I chose to focus on the positive. The other day I was thinking that there must have been businesses that thrived during a time of an economic slump. After all, there is always a need for something, and so there should always be someone who is able to recognize a need and fill it. So, I did some recession research and found quite a few well known and successful companies that have grown during a recession and even during the Great Depression.

So, who are they, what did they do, and what can we learn from them?

It was in 1876 that Thomas Edison opened his first research lab. In the middle of a six year recession known as the Panic of 1873, he created one of the best-known inventions of all time, the incandescent light bulb. GE is now the third largest company in the world.

During the Post World War I recession, Walt and Roy Disney opened the Disney Brothers cartoon studio. They thrived during the roaring twenties, and continued to grow even during the Great Depression, when they launched their first full length animated feature film, providing people with a much needed escape to the movies.

Both radio and print advertising thrived during the Great Depression. They were the emerging new mediums for businesses. This helped both Proctor & Gamble and Chevrolet flourish as they invested in these new marketing techniques.

In 1957, Burger King launched the whopper. Keeping prices low, it sold for 37 cents. In 1958 they took advantage of an increasingly popular medium, television, and aired their first commercial. In the early 70s, they were the first fast-food restaurant to offer an enclosed and air-conditioned seating area for guests to dine.

During the 1973 oil crisis, Federal Express began operations, and in 1975, Bill Gates started Microsoft.

In 1980, CNN and MTV were launched, bringing something new into homes as the first all-news channel and the first music video channel.

All of these companies recognized a need and filled it well. Whether it was an innovative product or a new way to market a product, they were successful at marketing. They found a way to stand out from the competition. They were able to reach their customers and give them what they wanted. Taking advantage of the emerging advertising opportunities of print and radio proved to be successful during the Great Depression, and with the Internet as the emergent medium for businesses today, the possibilities are endless.

Smart marketers understand that this is the time to increase your marketing efforts…and that doesn’t necessarily mean increase your marketing budget. While evaluating your budget changes, evaluate market changes and consumer behavior as well. It means finding out who your customers are and what they want. With social media, it’s even easier today to find your customers and their needs. Use Twitter to try searching for your company brand or products and listen to what people are saying, or try searching for specific needs to find new customers. There’s still a need to be filled during a recession, and consumers are expressing their needs and concerns all over the Internet. Good marketers know their customers. New data from Hitwise suggests that searchers are starting to use more keywords in search engine queries. Perhaps this trend comes from searchers who know exactly what they are looking for, making it even more important for businesses to really know their customers. Know your customer. Be Creative. Explore new ways of marketing to get a bigger piece of a smaller pie.

9 COMMENTS

  • Naoleon Suarez says:
    March 12, 2009 @ 9:32 pm

    This was a very interesting article. Thank you for the insight and the inspiration. I work for a company that specializes in technology products and services and I am in the Corporate Sales division. Athough their may be differences between the industries that you named and the one in which I am employed, I found that there are several similarities. One point in particular resonated with me. The portion of the article that I found most interesting was the part when you said “Smart marketers understand that this is the time to increase your marketing efforts…and that doesn’t necessarily mean increase your marketing budget.” I found this interesting because, although we are in a recession and technology budgets have been cut, my clients aren’t stopping their businesses. They are not sending out any less emails or gathering any less data. This information has to be stored somewhere so there will always be a need for storage and new and EFFICIENT ways to do things. My company has gained market share during these economic conditions, not by trying to sell ink/toner to a company for less than the competitor, but for providing a service that can help optimize business processes and increase efficicency. Essentially, I help my clients do more with less.

    In my experience with SEO, I understand fully that clients don’t want to pump more marketing dollars into their campaigns, but rather SMARTER marketing dollars. They want to be sure that they are maximizing the visibility of their site/product/service. It seems that SEER has done an excellent job of identifying clients’ pain points and meeting their needs during this difficult time. So, once again, I thank you for the inciteful blog post and I look forward to using some the inspiration you provided for all of my future endeavors. Cheers!!

  • Naoleon Suarez says:
    March 12, 2009 @ 9:34 pm

    It seems that my post didn’t go through and I didn’t copy or past the comment. Arrrghhh to technology.

    Long story short, I really enjoyed the post and you provided some great insight and inspiration!!

  • Bookmarks for March 11th through March 13th | Seth Goldstein Online says:
    March 13, 2009 @ 9:00 am

    [...] Marketing in a Recession: Getting a Bigger Piece of a Smaller Pie – There is always something to be learned from history, either from mistakes or successes. With the current state of the economy, I chose to focus on the positive. The other day I was thinking that there must have been businesses that thrived during a time of an economic slump. After all, there is always a need for something, and so there should always be someone who is able to recognize a need and fill it. So, I did some recession research and found quite a few well known and successful companies that have grown during a recession and even during the Great Depression. [...]

  • links for 2009-03-13 | Seth Goldstein Online says:
    March 13, 2009 @ 8:02 pm

    [...] Marketing in a Recession: Getting a Bigger Piece of a Smaller Pie There is always something to be learned from history, either from mistakes or successes. With the current state of the economy, I chose to focus on the positive. The other day I was thinking that there must have been businesses that thrived during a time of an economic slump. After all, there is always a need for something, and so there should always be someone who is able to recognize a need and fill it. So, I did some recession research and found quite a few well known and successful companies that have grown during a recession and even during the Great Depression. (tags: marketing recession) [...]

  • Bonnie Schwartz says:
    March 16, 2009 @ 9:39 am

    Great Post Dina!! With so much negative stuff being written out there, it is great to read about success stories in tough times. Very interesting post!!

  • dinam says:
    March 16, 2009 @ 3:40 pm

    @Naoleon Thanks for the feedback! I’m glad you found the post inciteful. I think the principles can definitely be applied to any business. I agree, it is all about smarter marketing dollars and being more efficient. That’s great that your company has gained during this time. Best of luck in the future as well! Thx!

  • How to Build Wealth Online Amidst Financial Chaos - The Opportunity of a Lifetime says:
    March 18, 2009 @ 11:35 am

    [...] During the Great Depression, radio and print advertising was still relatively new but thrived as the emerging new medium for business. Small companies back then like Chevrolet and Proctor & Gamble were able to take advantage of this and flourish even in turbulent times. Here’s a hint: history always seems to repeat itself… [...]

  • Donna McCarthy says:
    March 26, 2009 @ 11:27 am

    Dina, excellent post. Helps to put things in perspective. Not everything out there is doom and gloom. There is a bright spot, you just need to look for it.

  • Michael Rosciolo says:
    March 31, 2009 @ 11:31 am

    Excellent post! I will also add that in the past few recessions, we have seen AOL and Google emerge as leaders for their time. With a downturn in the market, it provides opportunity for the small guys to gobble up market share and have greater exposure for truly innovative ideas.

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