What is the very last cost any business should cut, recession or no recession?
During these uncertain times with a war going on in Ukraine, a recession on the loom, and the world recovering from a global pandemic, a lot of businesses will be thinking about cutting costs in this area, or have already done so!
If you don’t know me yet, then hello! My name is Stuart Bailey, I’m a commercial and advertising photographer based just outside of London in the UK.
I’ve been consuming a huge amount of business books, podcasts, and been part of a few business masterminds in London for the last 5 years before setting up my own photography business in December 2019.
As well as photography (obviously), business and marketing have been of major interest to me for a long time, and I love learning about it all and sharing what I learn.
I started my commercial photography business in one of the worst times in recent history with the COVID-19 pandemic, but as horrible the whole situation is/was, it has actually been the best learning experience that I could ever have! - Nothing like being thrown in the deep end and having to learn to how to swim to survive!
If I could not only survive, but thrive as a commercial photographer and keep my business alive through the global coronavirus pandemic and recession, then in theory, it should be absolutely booming when the economy comes back to normal!
So, what is the one thing I think that all companies, big or small, should never cut costs on?
Well, it seems obvious, it’s the very thing that actually gets customers and clients coming to your business in the first place, which is marketing and advertising!
No matter matter what economic time we find ourselves in, but especially now, the area that companies seem to cut cost on in an economical downturn, has historically been their marketing team and their marketing and advertising efforts.
Maybe their thinking behind it is,
“Well we’re not getting, or going to get any customers for a while because people don't want to spend money, so why waste our money on marketing to people who can’t buy from us anyway?”
Sounds valid right, and makes some sense?
However, this really should be the very last thing companies should be cutting, ever, and especially in an economic downturn!
The way businesses get customers or clients is though marketing, advertising and networking, it’s what gets peoples attention and makes people more aware of your brand, product, or service.
When starting a business, marketing and advertising are your best friends along with networking. They’re the things that get a company off the ground and spread the word to get your first client or customer to buy from you.
You make your first product, or you have a service to offer someone (such as photography), and then you make militant efforts to publicise and get your name or product out there to the masses!
So when an economic downturn hits in any form, a recession, or a global pandemic (like with COVID-19), our marketing efforts need to be bigger and stronger than ever!
We have to stay in peoples eyes and minds. We need to take up as much real estate on the internet and on social media as possible so we’re the first thing people think about, and also so that people don’t forget us during that time.
That said, the quality of our marketing and advertising efforts need to be even greater than usual to steal the attention from our competitors, and to stop the social media scroll!
Social media is so important, especially now where more people are working from home and spending more time on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn all day!
Of course I’m saying this partly because I’m a professional photographer!
I earn a living from creating stunning commercial photography for my clients. However, I truly do believe, that having quality photography, video, and graphic design, is so incredibly important.
It separates you and makes you stand out from at average Joe with their smart phones, producing the same looking content as everyone else on the internet!
Smart phone user generated content has its place of course, it’s fast, reactive, and genuine, and it’s essential for relationship building with your company or brand.
However, if you really want to stop people scrolling through their social media feeds and pay attention to you and your business, then you really need something spectacular that stands out from all the other content out there!
Historically, a recession lasts for around 15 months, so we really need to start pushing our marketing and advertising right now!
We need to let customers and clients know that we’re open for business, as they may have forgotten about us and not even thought of us for a couple of years.
So, as we go through the recession, whether you hire me as your photographer or not, start marketing and pushing out great attention grabbing and creative content that will win back your old clients, keep your regular and repeat clients, and start to gain new customers and bigger clients too!
It’s not going to be easy, and it's going to be a battle for businesses to stay in business and grow during these times, but it's 100% possible with the right efforts.
Don’t be left behind, get out in front, and win back and gain more business than ever!
And remember this, in a recession there is no less money in the world, it doesn't just disappear. People just hold onto it for longer or move it in different ways.
Pivot, change, adapt. Find ways of marketing yourself and your businesses to keep people or companies spending with you!
Thanks for reading!
Let me know if you agree or would add anything to what I’ve said here. I would love to hear from you!
Get in touch if you have any projects that you think I’d be a suitable photographer for. I would love to schedule a call and have a chat with you!
Commercial, Advertising, & Lifestyle Photographer | London UK
Website: www.StuartBaileyPhoto.com
Phone: (+44) 07762 900 132
Follow me on social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/StuBaileyPhoto
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stubaileyphoto
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StuBaileyPhoto/