There’s been a lot of talk recently about the dreaded global depression. Some are saying it could rival The Great Depression of the 1930s. And while I don’t spend much time analyzing markets, I’ve started to sense this feeling in both my personal and professional life.
As such, I figured I’d share with you the secret to not only surviving a global depression, but thriving during one.
Because, believe it or not, there is one big, fat difference between Depression-era companies that thrived and those who hung on for dear life.
The difference?
Whether you ignored it or not.
Y’see, across the board, the companies that thrived during the Depression were the ones who ignored it, especially as it pertains to their advertising budget.
In other words: Keep advertising as usual. It will be the difference between thriving, surviving, or dying.
Here are some examples the great Stefan Georgi compiled for the world:
Example #1: Ford vs Chevrolet
Before the Depression, Ford outsold Chevy by a scale of 10:1. When the depression hit, Ford cut back their advertising budget, while Chevrolet doubled down on it.
By 1931, Chevrolet was the #1 automaker in the US.
Example #2: Lucky Strike and Chesterfield vs Camel
In 1920, Camel was the #1 cigarette company in America. But then they cut back on advertising… And by 1929, Lucky Strike ranked #1 over Camel. By 1931, Chesterfield topped both. But then, Camel responded by increasing their advertising budget, and by 1935, they reassumed the top position yet again.
This isn’t just anecdotal evidence either.
There are some key psychological insights too.
As Stefan found in a blog post:
“Because so many companies cut spending during the Great Depression era, advertising budgets were largely eliminated in many industries. Not only did spending decline, but some companies actually dropped out of public sight because of short-sighted decisions made about spending money to keep a high profile. Advertising cutbacks caused many customers to feel abandoned. They associated the brands that cut back on advertising with a lack of staying power. This not only drove customers to more aggressive competitors, but it also caused financial mistrust when it came to making additional investments in the no-longer-visible companies.”
Moral of the story?
Run your business as usual.
Ignore the Depression.
And you might even wind up having a MORE successful and profitable business when this is all over.
I mentioned the same thing to my clients during The Great COVID Scare of 2020. Everyone thought we were heading toward a depression. But my clients largely ignored this—and even did the exact opposite, which meant sending even more emails than usual.
The result?
2020 and 2021 were some of the most successful years for my clients.
Anyway, if you want to get ahead of this potential economic disaster, there’s never been a better time to hit reply and book a call with your friendly neighborhood email marketer.
John
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