For marketers who simply don't have the money to spend more during a recession, what tactics can be used to weather the economic storm? Nigel Hollis says it's about maintaining focus

SURVIVAL TACTICS

The general learning suggests that increasing marketing spend during times of recession can produce longterm gains that more than compensate for the investment required. In practice, most companies reduce spending to shore up the bottom line. However, even companies that can't (or won't) spend more can find ways to do more with less.

1. COMPETITION
   Analyze company and brand health. Keep your finger on the competitive pulse, using annual reports, tracking studies, media data, sales force intelligence, and feedback from customers and consumers.
   
   Anticipate their actions. Recessions are a time of flux. Now more than ever, you need to anticipate what your competition might do and plan accordingly. The relationship between Share of Voice and Share of Market, which exists during both good and bad times, becomes a critical factor during recession, when many brands cut back on spending. If everyone else cuts spending, you can gain an edge simply by maintaining your own level of investment.
   
   Any action you take, however, is subject to a competitive reaction. You should consider the ways competitors might respond and work through a variety of scenarios. In 2002, when one leading diaper maker reduced the number of units in each package to improve margins, its rival kept their pack size constant and added the word "Compare" to the label.
   
   

2. "Now more than ever, you need to set the bar high and leverage your media budget as effectively as possible"

   BRAND
   Concentrate on your core brands and products. Now is not the time to spread scarce resources across multiple brands or product variants. Recessions may call for a triage strategy. Concentrate your marketing muscle behind the brands that are most likely to survive, and leave the others to sink or swim.
   
   Support your core proposition and emphasize its value. Focus your marketing efforts on reinforcing what made your brand successful in the first place. Even if your brand is relatively high priced, that high price need not be a problem as long as people believe your brand provides value for money. Most people find security in buying an established and reputable brand. What you need to do is make your brand accessible. During Argentina's economic crisis of 2002, Unilever made it possible for people to buy the Skip laundry brand by making small packages available, which carried a low unit price.
   
   Don't price promote unless you can cut costs or live with lower margins. It is tempting to cut prices in order to retain pricesensitive shoppers, but this can be a risky strategy. If your brand offers a compelling rational or emotional advantage over the competition, people who are forced to switch to cheaper brands are likely to buy your brand again when the recession is over. But once a price premium is lost, it tends not to be regained. Frequent price promotions train loyal brand buyers to expect lower prices and to buy only on deal.
   
   Don't cut quality. As the pressure to find cost savings increases, companies may be tempted to cut back on the quality of their products or services. This temptation should be resisted at all costs. A reduction in quality may seem to go unnoticed for a while, but provides competitors with an opening they may later exploit.
   
   
3. CUSTOMERS
   Keep in touch. Whether the category is B2C or B2B, a brand's biggest asset during a recession is its existing customer base. If your company is a service provider, confirm that your marketing activities are focused correctly on your most valuable, loyal, and satisfied customers. Keep them happy and reward their loyalty.
   
   If you have contact with customers through monthly billing statements (one piece of mail you can count on people to open), use that vehicle to deliver special offers, relevant news, and information.
   
   Review your consumer segmentation. Packaged goods companies should focus on the consumer segments that are likely to offer the best returns. A shift in positioning might make the brand attractive to a more profitable target.
   
   
4. COMMUNICATION
   Review your budget allocation. Prices for traditional media may be depressed during recessions, so you may be presented with a buyer's market. If you can buy more for less, try to lock in long-term deals.
   
   Make your creative work harder. In any communication channel, the best way to leverage your spend is to put it behind high-quality creative. Now more than ever, you need to set the bar high and leverage your media budget as effectively as possible. Test a range of solutions for each channel. Pre-testing is cheap in comparison to wasting millions on ads that fail to evoke the desired response.

Nigel Hollis is Millward Brown's chief global analyst; his new book The Global Brand: How to create and develop lasting brand value in the world market is published by Palgrave MacMillan. The full version of this Points of View article can be found on www.millwardbrown.com.