It’s critical that businesses don’t underestimate the power of marketing, especially in a recession, says National Commercial Bank (NCB) senior assistant general manager of group marketing Sheree Martin.

According to Martin, the first inclination of businesses during a recession is normally to cut marketing budgets, but marketing is in fact the most important tool for a business during tough times.

“This is a view that is in fact shared not only by marketers, but by researchers who have found that any decision to cut back on marketing activities during trying economic times is one of the surest ways of leading your business into failure,” said Martin at the media launch of the University of Technology (UTech) Marketing Seminar 2010.

She cited a survey conducted on 101 brands by American research firm MarketSense during the recessionary period of 1989 to 1991. The survey, she said, revealed that most of the brands which had their marketing budgets increased were better-off because of it. The brands surveyed, she said, included Kraft salad dressings and Jiff peanut butter, which from their decision to increase marketing budgets saw sales rise by 70 per cent and 57 per cent respectively. Pizza Hut and Taco Bell were also in the survey and realised, from spending more money on marketing, increased sales of 61 per cent and 40 per cent respectively.

“And in case you believe that was a one-off situation, it is noteworthy that studies such as these have been producing similar results for a long, long time,” she noted.

But while Martin said marketing professionals must have the guts to be more agressive during difficult times, such as the ongoing global recession which has severely impacted Jamaica, she said they can’t afford to be unwise in their spend. She said this is the strategy being used by her company’s marketing department, which has embraced an unofficial slogan to “Be careful, not fearful”.

“It is a motto which we in NCB’s marketing division have taken to heart. Certainly, we have, as marketers, recognised that because times are more difficult, we must be more disciplined in the use of our marketing budget…in the way that we manage our spend and in the way we evaluate both the reach and impact of what we spend,” she said

Speaking specifically on marketing strategies, Martin said businesses must first do indepth research to identify whether there are specific products or services which their target customers are interested in; the avenues that their target customers are frequenting to get those products or services; whether their customers are reaching those prospects and if yes, how are they reaching them; and ways they can top what the competition is doing.

“This type of research can help you position your products and services, even in a downturn, can help you win market share from competitors if you are able to respond quickly to market intelligence which shows up openings and if you are abe to adjust a product or service to meet those demands,” explained Martin, who said companies should then measure those results and determine what works for them.

The occasion marked the launch of UTech’s 29th annual Marketing Seminar, which will be held on April 8 at the Jamaica Conference Centre. This year’s theme is “Strategic marketing: Stimulating Growth & Sustaining Development in Declining Markets”.The seminar, which explores a different angle of marketing each year, has attracted an extensive list of speakers over the years.