S&M slashes – right or wrong?
Before I go any further, I’d better clarify that by S&M I mean sales & marketing. While the morals of sado-masochism might be a rather diverting topic, it’s not one within the realms of my experience.
Every few days we receive (often conflicting) messages from the media about the current economic climate and the outlook for months and years to come. I won’t let myself get drawn into the role the TV and newspapers are playing in magnifying and prolonging the situation. Instead I’m going to talk about the all-too frequent corporate response – slashing budgets and very often staff numbers in the sales & marketing departments.
You can see why they think it makes sense. Savings on outgoings and reduced overheards. Instant savings at a time when nobody’s buying.
Hmm. Nobody buying. Is that true? Certainly some industries have seen vast slumps in sales: the car and building industries to name a couple. But most consumers are still buying, they’ve just become more cautious and started shopping around and spending less. Which means there’s still a pot of money out there to grab a share of; it’s just that the markets have become yet more competitive.
And as for B2B, well, the same applies. Spending might be reined in, but ultimately every business needs certain products and services in order to function. Again, smaller pot, more competitive market.
Now what’s the best way to make sure your company gets its hands on some of the cash that is being spent? Er…pretty much the same way as always: sales and marketing. Except more so, because the pot’s smaller and it’s being guarded more closely.
Presumably if you freeze advertising budgets, cut marketing activity and lay off sales staff you’re going to be relying rather heavily on luck to maintain income. Not something you’d be anxious to include in a business plan: “Our five-year strategy is heavily focused on an intense and carefully co-ordinated combination of crossing our fingers, praying to assorted deities and twiddling our thumbs nervously.”
It might seem counter-intuitive to assign more cash to sales & marketing when times are tough, but it means not only are you increasing your chances of beating your competition, but you’re better equipped as the economy recovers.
If you’ve laid off half your sales staff, how do you handle demand as it increases? By recruiting more staff, which costs time and money. Instead a company could look at avoiding excessive redundancies by offering short-term reductions in basic salary, or commission-only salaries as an alternative. Either way a company should make every effort to support staff in looking for more stable roles as they work. That would mean living the corporate social responsibility policy, but potentially reaping a great financial benefit as well as countering negative PR.
Get your sales & marketing staff embracing social media, or engage a freelance copywriter or social media specialist to work with the teams, and the distance between you and your competitors could be even greater.
But to use a cliché beloved of my AO Level French teacher, perhaps I’m preaching to the converted. Perhaps it’s your seniors, or the Board that’s the problem. Read the article Is your board damaging your brand? to find out more…
In: advertising, corporate communications, marketing · Tagged with: advertising, copywriting, CSR (corporate social responsibility), internet marketing, marketing
