Why I love a good recession.

The doom merchants are predicting a big downturn this year and whilst we locally still battle a talent shortage in NZ the warning signs are shining brightly with many large tech companies in the US announcing huge layoffs, and then of course there's Elon Musk...but let's not go there.

When signs of an impending downturn start to show there is a natural reaction from companies to look at how they can cut costs. Often for tech companies, the two areas where the knives start to sharpen are people and marketing. DON’T DO IT!

Both are the lifeblood of your business - people are core to your success and marketing is essential to sales and growth. In tough times buyers become more risk-averse and are more likely to buy from brands they trust and respect. In the B2B space, this is even more so and this is why the brand is critical. A recent article at The Drum states that 70%-90% of B2B purchases are made from brands that they were aware of before they started the buying process.

The bottom line is if you aren't in the consideration set early enough you have likely missed the boat. So, what does this mean in a recession - opportunity? You can make a lot more noise in a market where your competitors are pulling back. Now is the time to at worst maintain your market spend and ideally increase it. But, ensure you are spending it wisely. The drive in recent times have all been about tactics to drive demand generation and whilst this remains critical it counts for very little if no one has ever heard of you. Brand building takes time but fundamentally underpins your business.

Don't play the short game, invest in the future of your business.