Marketing in a recession.  It’s something I have to confess, I haven’t thought about in a few days.  Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been in front of the computer.  After enjoying way too much egg nog and celebrating with family in San Francisco, I’m back in the office.  It seems like it’s been only a few days but it’s been close to 2 weeks. I hope that you enjoyed your holidays.

It’s my greatest desire to see your company succeed and as we move into 2009 and embark on a new year, tune in regularly to continue to receive free marketing advice, designed to boost your bottom line without breaking the bank.  Hang in there, recessions typically last only 13 months and we’re more than a year into this thing.  Today, I just want to address the excessive doom and gloom reporting that the media is perpetuating.

I’m sure you’ve seen the email that’s been going around that tells people not to buy gift cards this Christmas because the stores may be out of business by January 1.  If you actually take the time to read the email, you’ll see that the stores are not necessisarily going under, they are just closing a few locations.  That’s a different matter all together.  But, the media, hungry for doom and gloom has been reporting that the stores may actually ge going out of business all together. To top it off, every news report covers the huge discounts of 50%, 60% or even 75% off after Chistmas merchandise.  They frame it as a last-ditch effort to stay afloat when in fact, stores offer deep discounts every year after Christmas.  Don’t buy into the media hype or you’ll want to shut your doors and run for the hills.

It’s a trap that’s so easy to fall into.  You have to guard yourself against the barrage of bad news and filter everything you hear, knowing that everything the media reports has been positioned to sensationalize the story.  Ignore it.  If more people would ignore the news, the stock market would likely stop swinging a thousand points every month.  People are so prone to follow the herd that people jump ship in the market and push the DOW lower and lower and lower.  Everyone, please just calm down.  Take a deep breath and decide what the best thing you can do today in order to grow your business.  Focus on internal factors and ignore all of the things that don’t actually affect your company.

Until next week.  We’ll get back into some marketing tactics so you have an arsenal of ideas to work with.

Chadd Bryant

This is a part of a serious of post, so be sure to read the other articles on this topic.