The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) is the world’s largest organization for professional marketers. Its white paper, ‘Keep calm and carry on Marketing’, is the definitive guide to marketing in a recession. We continue a series of articles based on this paper. PART TWO: Focusing on value.

ONE THING that marks out the current recession from other downturns in the past 40 years is the way it has eroded confidence – from individual consumers and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), all the way up to high street chains and global brands.

When multi-national corporations and major banks go out of business such an outcome is inevitable.

Yet one positive by-product of the latest recession – at least, that is, for companies producing competitively priced, high quality products and services – is that consumers have never been more focused on value, says the CIM.

New concept of value may be legacy of recession
Innovation, too, becomes even more important in difficult times than when things are buoyant. The difference, the CIM states, is that “innovation needs to be adapted to current conditions, all the while taking into account that a redefinition of value may be the lasting legacy of this recession”.

It suggests that one way in which a responsible marketer might respond to the current economic and social climate is “to acknowledge the movement away from our ‘throwaway’ culture into an era of reusing rather than consuming”.

Marketers, suggest the CIM, could work to ensure that the key messages around their products and services are originality and longevity.

Originality and longevity key recession marketing ploys
It adds that the benefit of such a strategy is it helps protect the environment and reduce carbon footprints – an issue that continues to rise up the agenda for many individuals and businesses.

"Original products and services will always hold up better than those that can be easily substituted by cheaper versions, and it’s by no means proven that the current economic gloom his dampened our appetite for the new," Chris Cleaver, MD of brand agency Dragon tells the CIM. "It's just that in these straitened times. Customers are going to need more compelling and persuasive reasons to put their hands in their pockets to shell out for goods and services."'

The CIM says businesses cutting back on marketing spends justify the move by “claiming they can't afford to prioritize acquiring more customers through the implementation of new ideas”. But it warns that such a "steady as she goes" approach is putting businesses at risk.

For sustaining profits and maintaining market share – let alone ensuring growth – investment in marketing has never been more important, argues the CIM.

Recession offers opportunities to grow client base
It cites the example of the building society, Nationwide, which now celebrates the fact that it is seen as solid and dependable – a characteristic that previously may not have been deemed a marketable message to send.

Even if your brand does not have such associations, the recession provides opportunities for businesses to grow your client base, the CIM states, adding: “It's not always the stuff that's expensive that people ditch. In fact, they want reliability and may be prepared to spend more for it.

“It's up to the marketer to persuade potential consumers and clients that this is what you offer. You don't have to be a well-known or long-established brand to achieve it."

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