If you’re interested in B2B marketing in a recession then you have to keep your eye on the ball.  Don’t follow your natural instinct to hunker down and weather the storm.  You must maintain a growth posture in order to succeed.  Otherwise, the recession may not be the worst part of this whole thing.  Imagine coming out of the recession only to find that your company has lost market share while your competitors have been aggressively growing through the storm.  What if you hunkered down and actually survived the storm, only to go under after the storm clears?  That would be tragic.  You MUST be on the offense.  Companies who take a risk-adverse approach are much more likely to go out of business while those who are aggressively seeking sales will be the ones who thrive and grow.

The natural instinct is to cust costs, eliminate waste and cut back on advertising budgets.  Trimming costs is always wise.  I can’t argue with that, but studies have shown that the companies that trim expenses in some places to reallocate more money to marketing in a slow economy, are actually the ones that succeed.  Look back in history. Check it out for yourself.  Look at the recessions on the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.  Companies that are no longer around are the ones that trimmed their marketing budgets.

So if you’re a B2B company, my best recommendation for you is to keep your head up and don’t take your eye off the ball.  Don’t hunker down.  In fact, look for opportunities.  Look for your competitor who are going under and go after their clients.  Go after their top talent and hire them.  Learn what they did well and capitalize on it.  Learn what caused them to go under and avoid it.  If you hire their employees, the answers to these questions may be easier than you think.

I know I got a little off-topic today.  Sorry about that.  I didn’t wind up talking much about marketing in a recession but sometimes there are more important things than marketing.  Attitude can out shine any marketing campaign.

Chadd Bryant