Mike Beutow at Circuits Assembly hits the nail on the head with his recent post Branded. The oublication has been one of the few constants in the electronics manufacturing industry for a number of years. As a result, Mike and the publication garner respect from his readers and competitors alike.
He rightly points out in the post that the strength of a brand can sustain a company even in bad times. The example he uses comes from a master of business - Warren Buffet. (A pretty good example in my book.)
All too many marketing budgets have been drastically (and critically) reduced or worse, zeroed out completely. What a raw deal for any business trying to weather the storm.
One of the key principles in marketing is to keep your brand in front of your prospects. That's a little hard to do if you have a zero budget.
Company's with this mentality go on to justify their actions claiming that they get 'free' ink by issuing poorly written news releases created by non-marketers. Yet they get upset when the release is missing from publications or web sites. What's worse, they complain about the size of a magazine. (The ratio of paid ad pages to editorial pages remains the same, it's the reduction in ads that causes the smaller size.)
Sustainability in hard times is more than brand consistency. Buyers need to remember your name when the funds start flowing again.
Do your prospects remember who you are?
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