The recession has touched almost every aspect of nearly every industry, and the effect is rarely positive.  Do you have more or fewer competitors than you had three years ago?  One year ago?  Probably fewer, but it’s important to recognize that those still in the ring are true fighters.  There may be fewer competitors, but that certainly doesn’t mean there is less competition.  Most organizations in most industries have to keep a tenacious grip on their market share with one hand while strategically positioning themselves to grab more with the other.

This means that business owners and key decision makers who’ve been conservative about advertising in the past need to take another look at their options.  Refusing to grow, reducing, or even eliminating advertising out of fear makes your company entirely too vulnerable to competitors who will use your deer-in-the-headlights paralysis to drive you right out of business.  A highly competitive marketplace demands an aggressive advertising strategy.

This does not, of course, mean that you should start tossing advertising dollars around willy-nilly; just as with driving a car, an overcorrection can cause a crash. 

An intelligent, targeted approach is the correct approach.  This requires preparation in the form of the advice of experts.

Advertising is typically something of a mystery to business owners – even the successful ones.  John Wannamaker, department store magnate and inventor of the price tag, once said, “I know fifty percent of my advertising works.  Now I have to figure out which fifty percent.”  If John had a tough time figuring that out in the early part of the century, imagine what he would think about the challenges business people face in the 21st century with our ever-increasing number of advertising and marketing options.

The truth is that no one person can do everything on their own.  Savvy business owners know that the best way to get the job done is to hire the best people to do it.  If advertising is not your core business, don’t waste your time trying to learn someone else’s specialty – while you’re doing so, your business will suffer from neglect, and your efforts aren’t likely to be particularly effective.  Just as you wouldn’t ask your accountant to fix your delivery truck or your mechanic to do your taxes, don’t try to run your business and do your own advertising.

Business owners in today’s economic climate have an opportunity that hasn’t existed to this degree in this country for over 50 years – to capitalize on a sharp downturn and make a fortune on a gradual upswing.  This can’t be done with a business model that was built on a relatively static system.  If there is any security in our business world today, it’s in knowing and accepting that nothing is secure.  But with that acceptance comes freedom – the freedom to take risks, the freedom to reinvent ourselves and our businesses, and the freedom to change.  Don’t let your competition kick dirt in your face as they claw their way to the mountain peak that is economic freedom while you hang onto a twig and swing in the breeze.  Find your foothold, gather your strength, and fight for your own place at the top.