If you're a customer of ours, you know we won't stop building the relationship and providing useful information even though we're watching our expenditures closely just as you are.
What we have learned is this: that in volatile economic times, businesses that continue to advertise and engage in proactive marketing do better during the economic downturn and position themselves to prosper when the economy recovers.
You don't have to take our word for it. In 2001 noted researchers Yankelovich Partners and Harris Interactive conducted a survey of 505 key executives across all major business segments. Here are some of the major findings:

• The more frequently executives see products or services advertised, the more likely they are to take action.
• Companies that advertise in a down economy are perceived as having more commitment to their products and services.
• Frequent advertising keeps a company or brand top-of-mind, provides more information about the company or brand, and makes respondents more likely to consider the company's products or services for purchase.

More recent evidence appeared in December 2008 in a Forbes.com article entitled Don't Skimp on Ad Budgets. In it Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader states that cutting back on advertising "leaves space for an aggressive marketer to make strong inroads." In other words, if you cut back on advertising, it leaves room for your competitors to gain a foothold in the mind of your customers.

Change the Message, not the Budget

While cutting the advertising budget is not the right action, changing the message in the advertising might be. When reading advertising, both customers and prospects seek an answer to the question, "What's in it for me?" - or stated more elegantly, how does your product or service provide benefit to the customer or prospect? If your advertising is already built around providing this answer, now may be the time to tune it up to reflect the current economic downturn.
A simple way to answer the question "What's in it for me?" is to make a list of features, then turn them into benefits. To do this, state the feature, then bridge to the benefit using the phrase what this means for you. Finally, edit the benefit to reflect possible concerns of your customers or prospects. Here are some examples:

• Our company has been providing printing services to businesses and organizations since 1994 (feature). What this means for you (bridge) is that we have stood the test of time - we have weathered previous downturns and will do so again (benefit).
• We have just added another digital color printer to our technology line-up, which features up to 12" x 47" banner printing on water resistant paper (feature). What this means for you (bridge) is that we can offer full colour printing quickly for you as well as being able to print that last minute banner you need for your next tradeshow (benefit).

Note that the statement of benefits touches on topics likely to be of interest to the customer or prospect - in our example: that our business is strong enough to survive the current economic conditions and will not fail when others might and that we can offer you fast turnaround times for those last minute printing projects you know will come up for you.

Advertising with Direct Mail Marketing

Among advertising methods, direct mail marketing stands out for its cost effectiveness and likelihood of success. Unlike mass media, direct mail can be targeted to a specific audience of any size, including an audience of one. The results of a direct mail marketing campaign can be tracked and measured in number of responses, and a campaign can be tailored to fit almost any advertising budget.
Two important elements to the success of a direct mail campaign is to use a good mail list and to be consistent. A good mail list is one that contains complete and accurate addresses, contact names or titles, and is composed of individuals or businesses that you know or suspect have an interest in your product or service. An indicator of interest could be a response of some kind such as requesting information or asking to be placed on a newsletter distribution list. It could also be that the characteristics of the individual or business match those of customers who are already buying from you.

What to Mail

There is much debate about what makes an effective advertising piece, and a good case can be made for all possibilities - post card, self-mailer or information enclosed in an envelope. Likewise there is much debate about whether response rate is increased by using live postage stamps or by addressing the mail piece so it appears to be handwritten or by extensive personalizing.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the response rate of any direct mail marketing campaign is overwhelming determined by the mail list - as much as 60%. The appearance of the mail piece and the offer each account for about 20%. What this means is that a well designed mail piece with an unbeatable offer won't succeed unless it is sent to the right mailing list.

The Importance of Repetition

The most effective direct mail marketing campaigns are repetitious - that is, they consist of more than one mailing and are spread over a regular interval such as monthly or quarterly. You will realize a higher cumulative response rate by mailing three times to the same list than you will by mailing once to a larger list. This is because each subsequent mailing increases the likelihood that someone on the mailing list will be interested in your product or service. Someone who was not in the market for your product or service at the time of the first mailing may be when they receive the second or third mailing. Others may not have noticed the first mail piece; still others may need more exposure to your product or service.
Repetition is important for recognition, use the same general look for your entire campaign - keep it fresh by changing images and messages, but keep the same theme (fonts, colours) throughout your marketing campaign.