Marketing is often the first area that businesses look to cut back on in a recession.

Although this may free up cash in the short term, in the long term it can prove to be a costly strategy. When times are tough, businesses need marketing more than ever. Freelance marketer, Jo Spragg, gives us her top five tips for marketing in a recession:

1.    Be customer focused. Marketing isn’t just about acquiring new customers, it’s also about taking care of your existing customers. Demonstrate your value to current customers at every opportunity.

2.    Stay ahead of the competition. Be aware of who your competitors are, what they offer and what makes you different. Once you’ve established a differentiator, communicate it clearly to the marketplace.

3.    Instead of cutting your marketing budget, be smarter with your spend. For example, if you have to use external suppliers, freelancers are more cost effective than large agencies.

4.    Every point of contact with your business represents a marketing opportunity. Think about how you pitch yourself at Chamber networking events, how you answer the phone, how user friendly your website is and make sure you’re creating the right impression at all times.

5.    Measure your marketing efforts. It’s only by tracking your activities that you’ll see what’s working and what’s not.