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Rusties Newsletter September ’09

September month went by very quickly here at Rusties and I’m sure for the rest of you as well. Spring arrived at the beginning of September and changed everything very rapidly from cold, windy weather to warm, sunny weather. Doesn’t spring make you feel more energetic and recharged? Surely it does! No matter what happens though, businesses doesn’t halt. Let me tell you what happened over here at Rusties during the month of September.

In this article

New Business Listings

Again, we gained some new clients during the month of September ’09. Give them a warm welcome to Rusties!

Don’t Stop Advertising

Shout, laugh, cry during a recession.
But whatever you do, don’t stop advertising…

It seems somewhat counterintuitive to keep advertising during a recession. The general thinking is, consumers don’t have any money, so why bother. But the reality is that consumers don’t stop spending during recessions; they just for beter deals. And the companies that advertise these deals, are the ones that capture the market.

Study after study shows that those companies who continue to advertise during a downturn, not only survive but grow. According to Ehreburg-Bass Institute (EBI), a marketing research institute in South Australia, a recession can actually provide opportunities for marketers, its partly because of reduced activity by competitors. A brand can increase its share of voice by simply maintaining its current marketing spending.

Opportunities also arise from changes in consumer behaviour. The EBI study shows that it is easier for consumers to change their non-regular behaviour (such as buying luxury goods) than their day-to-day behaviour (buying everyday items) during a recession.

Often, once you stop advertising the effects are not immediately visible. This is known as the time-leg effect.

A recession doesn’t last forever – most last about a year. While no one knows when the current recession will end, it is still a good idea to start planning for growth now. It is important to maintain your advertising, otherwise you will have to spend more when the recession ends in order to regain your momentum. When the upturn comes, you want to be first out to starting blacks.

One of the most exciting features of a recession, is that it can accelerate some existing trends and even create new ones. In every downturn there are market segments that grow faster others. For example, the last price hike in petrol in the US saw smaller cars steal market share from the larger models. During the 2001 recession, The Economist reported that Estee Lauder had good sales of lipstick. The reason is that lipstick provides women with a bit of cheap and instant cheer when times are gloomy. A great opportunity exists in finding out what the fast-growing markets are, and capturing them.

Watching the bottom line

When the economy takes a dive, advertising can make the difference between making a profit and closing down: Here’s a few pointers.

1. Focus on family values
When economic hard times loom, people tend to spend more at home with their families. Focus more on home entertainment and connecting with family and friends. Create family scenes in advertising to replace images of adventure and exotic destinations.

2. Don’t cut, if you have to
If you have to cut your company’s advertising spending, try to maintain the frequency of advertisements by downsizing. Television ads can be brought down from 30 seconds to 15 seconds. Use radio instead of expensive television advertising. You could also increase the use of direct marketing.

3. Target your advertising
This is especially true in a downturn when you have to stretch your marketing rand as far as possible. Do not aim to reach as many people as possible, but rather the right people as often as possible. It is more beneficial to reach 20 000 if the correct target customers 20 times than to reach 400 000 people at one time. Use customer endorsements in your advertisements. This is a form of word-mouth advertising.

4. Get creative
Find ways to say in your customer’s mind. Gibson suggests word-of-mouth advertising. “It us one of the most credible forms of advertising. Encourage word-of-mouth from your current customers. Go beyond their expectations and give them something to talk about.” Offer referral bonuses to customers who bring in new clients

5. Revisit your prices
Adjust your pricing tactics. During tough times, consumers are more price conscious and will shop around for the best prices. Offer them more price promotions, extend credit to regular customers and price your products more aggressively.

Specials of the Month

Many of our clients have been keen to tell the whole of Rustenburg what special offers they have on products and/or services. See our specials for September ’09 below. If you want to publish a special on Rusties, please read more about it here.

Events

There are always exciting events happening in Rustenburg. In order to stay up to date with the latest events and happenings, please subscribe to our “Events & Happenings” mailing list here on Rusties. We have a new events calendar on Rusties which presents all our users with a visual calendar and the events on it. If you want to publish an event, please contact us.

Past Events
Upcoming Events

Charities & Non-Profit Organizations

Are you part of a charity or a non-profit organization? Do you want to spread the word and make yourself heard? Please contact us so that we can help you with advertising and marketing right here on Rusties, FREE of charge! We don’t charge charities and non-profit organizations for advertisements on Rusties. This includes Rustenburg charities, schools, churches and other non-profit companies.

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