Why stopping your advertisement campaigns to save money is a bad decision
This is one of my favorite quotes:
“The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time.”
It’s been attributed to Henry Ford (though there is some doubt about it). I think it makes a crucial point, though: advertising should not be viewed as an expense, it’s an investment, and your potential customers will continue to purchase when you’re not advertising – but not from you!
Have you ever wondered why successful, famous and pervasive corporations like McDonald’s and Whataburger, Coke and Pepsi are still advertising? Is it because people don’t know who they are yet?
Ivory soap, a recognizable brand of the corporate giant Procter & Gamble, has been on sale since 1879 – that’s 135 years as of the time of this writing and they’ve been advertising since at least 1882 (no matter who’s reading thing, that’s older than you).
Tide detergent debuted on popular store shelves in 1946. They’re still marketing. Why can’t they rest on their laurels by now?
Consider this: advertisement & marketing is the only part of your business that is wholly dedicated to bringing in sales and revenue (and presumably, you are in business to earn some kind of revenue, charity and philanthropic interests not withstanding).
- Your bookkeeper keeps you from losing money (hopefully)
- Your CPA saves you from paying unnecessary taxes
- Your lawyer protects you from losing a chunk of change in a lawsuit
- HR makes sure you have the right people in the right place, at the right time
- Programmers and technicians keep the bugs out and the systems running well
- Employees keep customers happy, production flowing and the doors open
- Vendors provide all the materials and services you need
- Managers keep the employees and vendors in line
- Consultants and analysts keep the stress down and the wheels of industry turning smoothly . . .
But every one of those is only saving money you already earned (or preventing greater losses).
Only your advertising department or agency is fully dedicated to bringing in fresh, new revenue, which in turn funds all the other departments.
Advertisement brings in more customers, more sales, and provides the fuel to continue running your business. Don’t stop.