Article originally published in Orlando Business Journal.

To achieve business growth after a pandemic, corporations either must get their existing customers to use their products and services more often, increase their prices or get new customers. Regardless of what direction a company decides to go, it must advertise to keep the momentum going.

One of the biggest challenges is that some corporate executives still are thinking of cutting their marketing budgets even further for the upcoming year. They feel that sales performance will correct itself and level out once consumers’ confidence comes back. Even though they have been pretty quiet for the past two years during the pandemic, some of them still believe they have brand equity and relevancy in the market, which is not necessarily true.

A number of studies have pointed out the advantages of maintaining or increasing your advertising in time of crisis. As a popular adage says: “When times are good you should advertise. When times are bad you MUST advertise.”

Here are three things to consider if you plan to become a strong market player next year:

1. Marketing 101: One of the main purposes of marketing is to create business growth. Marketing is the performance of business activities designed to plan, price, promote and direct the flow of a company’s goods and services to consumers for a profit. You need daily cashflow generated by sales to keep business alive, which is a reason why many corporations have a broad product portfolio. Most importantly, you need your brand consistently to be top of mind and for customer satisfaction to remain high so consumers can become your brand ambassadors and deliver valuable word of mouth advertising for you. What the customers get in return besides a great product or services is: Brand relevance — the value a customer receives/perceives by using the brand. And, brand resonance — consumers respect the brand and identify with it. To get consumers engaged and generate sales, you must advertise your brand by leveraging the strong data and analytics that are available about your existing and potential consumers.
2. Stay top of mind: When brands are quiet during time of crisis or recession, they lose their “share of minds” with consumers, which is detrimental for existing as well as future sales. An increase in “share of voice” typically leads to an increase in market share, which increases profits. This is a simple concept that marketers and executives many times overlook. They are so concentrated on the bottomline that they lose track of the bigger picture. You must be proactive rather than reactive to the situation and plan accordingly. It is important to highlight that when you cut your ad spend, you are giving an opportunity to competitors to reposition their brands or to introduce a new product in the market. As the media inventory tends to increase during a crisis, it creates a buyer’s market opportunity for brands and gives them the chance to negotiate better media rates. Cutting your ad spend also allows your competitors to project a stronger image of corporate stability during challenging times. So, in the end it says a lot about your company and brand that you are not communicating enough with your consumers. As Henry Ford said, “The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops a clock to save time.”
3. Embrace change: Innovation and curiosity are crucial in order to become a great marketer. Push the boundaries, challenge the status quo. Just the fact that a company has been doing business or making business decisions in a specific way doesn’t mean it is the right way any longer. As society and technology constantly are evolving, this gives brands and people an opportunity to become a better version of themselves. Embrace change. Remember good things never come from comfort zones. If we want success, we must get comfortable being uncomfortable. Now more than even it is time to be relevant if not you will be losing your customers and it will cost you even more to get them back.