Why now is not the best time to cut your PR & Marketing Budgets
It is a well known fact that in times of hardship (as we can all appreciate right now), cutting your PR & Marketing budget could potentially be one of the worst things you can do.
At a time where we are all needing to watch what we spend, whether it is personal - not putting your heating on, or business - we need to cut our budgets, your PR & Marketing Team may be the first ones you feel may unfortunately have to take the hit.
This industry often gets tarnished with the label of ‘We don’t know exactly what they do?’ or ‘How can we track our ROI?’. However, if you have the right team, or work with the right agency, they can actually be one of the most valuable assets your business invests in.
I am not writing this just to sell our services, more to educate you why your customers, during these uncertain times, want familiarity and reassurance.
Adapting your PR & Marketing Strategy is imperative in these uncertain times to ensure that your brand is one that keeps your customers engaged.
Here are some examples of how that works:
Invest in building relationships and establishing your credibility can help to build lifelong loyalty with your customers
Building and maintaining new customer relationships will always get filtered down to friends, family, colleagues, neighbours. Everyone loves a good recommendation
If the media are talking about you, your customers will trust that you are the right product to purchase or the right service to work with
Gaining trust and credibility will in turn generate sales and help you to gain market share
It takes time
Yes we’ve already mentioned the fact that you need to reduce costs, however, PR & Marketing Campaigns are not overnight quick fixes.
Suddenly stopping your Marketing efforts can seriously impact your long term goals and waste money previously invested. It is important to clearly define these long term goals with your team and/or agency and ensure that they are the right people to deliver them successfully.
A short term Digital Campaign is not going to suddenly have you overwhelmed with online/retailer orders or contact forms full of enquiries, it takes time to build the relationship with your potential customers, it takes time for your customers to learn about you and gain your trust.
Understanding what your team and/or agency do
Team Pebble have a combined experience of over 53 years in this industry. We know a common misconception of a PR company is ‘What do they actually do?’ We have heard this so many times, we have asked that question ourselves at some point in our careers when we have been at the other side of the table.
We understand that your team and/or agency need to be transparent and open about exactly what they are doing. They should be living and breathing your strategies and ensuring that any budget spent is spent wisely and effectively.
PR & Marketing is just one piece of the jigsaw puzzle, but an important one…
In this current economic climate you may just need to focus on your sales, cut your PR & Marketing budgets and throw all the pressure on your Sales Team (we can hear Sales Teams all over shouting YES! It’s not all on our heads!). Your PR & Marketing team/agency supports them hugely.
Remember, your Sales Team is just part of the jigsaw puzzle too. Sales, PR & Marketing all fit together neatly and support each other. Getting your strategies right, PR & Marketing driving the reinforcement of brand awareness and trust supports your Sales Team and vice versa. The more you gain trust, the more you sell, the more your brand is recognised and recommended, the more sales you will achieve without adding pressure to your poor Sales Team.
And to finish…
Everyone is concerned about how we are going to heat our family homes this winter without feeling the strain on our bank accounts… just remember, cutting your PR & Marketing efforts at this time will only add to those pressures and concerns.
Contact us today to find out how we can help with your PR & Marketing activity, work harmoniously with your Sales Team and deliver your overarching business goals.