Paid marketing spend shouldn’t be the first port of call for budget cuts when times are tough as it could damage long-term account performance, writes Rick Tobin, Managing Director at Leeds agency Circus PPC.
The current cost of living crisis has been difficult for both businesses and consumers to navigate. Following recent reports of the UK inflation rate rising to over 10%, many are anticipating that the country is soon to fall into a recession.
During tough financial times, marketing is often one of the first costs to be reduced especially when it comes to PPC, which can be an expensive but extremely effective type of marketing.
Understandably, those responsible for business expenditure will be worried when it comes to deciding how to move forward with spending and how it might affect business performance.
Despite these worries, it’s important for businesses to remain level-headed and think carefully before making changes to their paid marketing strategies.
“Business goals still exist in times of financial hardship”
Despite huge changes to the economy and the way that both consumers and businesses approach finances, business goals aren’t going anywhere.
There’s still going to be KPIs to be met in order for businesses to reach their goals and objectives. Some might think the best route would be to revise said goals, however that’s not the only option and continuing to focus on said goals – if possible – is also a valid option.
One of the reasons why PPC is such a popular marketing approach is because of the tangible results that can be closely measured. Take ROI, for example. Being able to see the ROI of a certain time period, or specific campaign, can help you – as a business – to analyse spend and understand how it’s truly affecting the business.
If it’s something that hasn’t benefitted you in the past, then looking into new, tried and tested methods of spending to drive growth may also be an option. However, it’s worth being aware that a reduction in spend will likely contribute towards a loss of momentum in desired business growth.
“Being clued-up can help with your competitive edge”
Like many other businesses, the immediate reaction to state of the economy right now is going to be to reduce spend. However, taking the time to make more informed and strategic decisions around how to approach marketing and the spend that goes with it can give you and your business the leg up against competitors, who will also be considering changes to what they’re currently doing.
One big reason to continue spending is to maintain consumer confidence, which the continuing appearance of paid advertising and active marketing can help contribute towards. Unlike competitors that might have decreased, or even completely stopped paid marketing spend, this can help strengthen your brand and monopolisation – however temporary – of the market.
There’s no way to predict the future, but it’s common knowledge that a reduction in marketing spend will most likely lead to a reduction in revenue. The big questions to ask yourself are what is most important to the continuation of your business success? Do you have the capital to keep the business running? Can you sacrifice spending elsewhere to ensure you can continue to spend on marketing?
“Let the experts guide you”
If you’re working with PPC experts, or a PPC agency in particularly, now is the time to put your trust in them. Working with multiple clients across a range of industries means that they are clued up on different states of market volatility and how to approach changes in economical and societal circumstances. Whether it’s focusing spend in a different area or recommending a change in strategy – experts are experienced in testing and applying different ways of spending to reach specific business goals.
In addition to said experience, agencies can benefit from their developed relationships with partner agencies and platforms such as Google to discover and explore new product updates, account management, training, events, and betas – all of which can inform on the best way to focus spend and approach PPC account management across Google products and platforms.
It’s understandable that businesses might be worried about the future when it comes to the expected recession, which might lead to big and uncomfortable decisions around where to put
money in order to keep the business afloat. However, it’s important that these decisions are carefully considered to set up the business for the best results possible.
Even if there are some worries or apprehensions surrounding the future of your business as a result of the upcoming recession, making a slapdash decision around your paid marketing spend could do more harm than good and damage your account performance in the long term.
The biggest takeaway from this – I hope – is that reducing spend isn’t the only option and it shouldn’t be the first thing that comes to mind when considering how to re-evaluate business and growth strategy.
The best thing to do if you’re unsure is to consult an industry specialist, or if you’re already working with an agency, contact them to make sure you’re on the same page, and for any reassurances you need prior to making any important decisions.
