The mortgage industry is facing challenging times. Some companies will survive, others may not. Some will panic and freeze all expenses short of turning on the lights while others…the fighters and opportunists…will view this market as a chance to take their companies and brands to the next level, ensuring their positions are solid when the market bounces back.
Right now, many are in the process of right-sizing to accommodate the current trend and keep expenses in check. Many are also pulling back their mortgage marketing, PR or branding efforts or dropping out all together to weather the storm. But be careful when you make this decision…what if all your competitors don’t do the same? Could that put you in the position of trying to catch up to them when things bounce back? Or worse…what if some of your competitors ramp UP their efforts, foreseeing an opportunity to really dominate the market when it comes back?
Hitting the “stop” button is commonplace. But have you ever considered what could happen if you did just the opposite? Right now, increasing market share is your best opportunity. And if this is the case…if you make the decision to focus on acquiring market share as you watch your competition halt or wind down communications activities, take the time to make sure you know exactly what your brand is and why people should do business with YOU. Make sure your brand is unmistakably clear to all who encounter it. This remarkable opportunity to quickly gain market share does not come knocking often.
All too frequently, branding and communications activities are considered expenses that need to go as soon as the economy does an about-face. Such is not the case if you’ve managed your expenses wisely and therefore have the ability to make an investment that can change your future as soon as the market bounces back.
Here are 10 advantages to maintaining, or even increasing, your communications and branding efforts in a down economy:
- Building your market share…the most obvious opportunity
- Allows for increased marketing exposure for your company with less competitive interference/noise
- Less expensive to build greater awareness of your brand due to less competitors on the air, in the papers, in the mail and so on
- Competition for press opportunities is reduced from like companies due to decreased or lost budgets, making expert positioning more attainable
- More opportunity to make sure your brand is conveyed and becomes understood by your target audience(s)
- Great time to check how well your brand is understood by conducting a brand insight assessment with both external and internal audiences as the chances of getting more survey responses is higher
- More ability to strengthen your brand and differentiating factors to make your brand known and solid due to less competitive exposure in the market place
- Great time for (re)launching your brand in the market place which could be viewed as a sign of strength and staying power
- Marketing while most others slow down shows corporate strength and staying power
- Devise ways to make your brand more meaningful and take this time to ensure that meaning is conveyed to your target audience and constantly reinforced
If you have the means, moving your communications and branding strategies forward in a tough market is advisable. If you bring everything to a stop, any momentum you’ve built up to this point can be easily lost or drowned out by the one(s) that make the decision to forge ahead and take that momentum you’ve built for their own.
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