We’ve been in operation for over four years, and during that time ridden the highs and lows that are inevitable in each business.

You may be sick of hearing it, we are sick of saying it. COVID-19 really threw everything off its course. The level of uncertainty in business impacted us and our clients. However with optimism, government grants, perseverance and plain old hard work we got through it.

Some clients soared, others struggled. We did what we could to help and support them.

Now the Australian financial market is impacting businesses once again. High interest rates and inflation are causing consumer doubt, and businesses again may be faced with fear of the future. Here’s our take on the coming recession and what we are doing to help small businesses.

Less money - for businesses and their customers

Let’s face it. A recession impacts us both ways. Consumers hold back spending as discretionary income decreases, luxury or non-essential purchases are lowered as they wait to see the impact of the next 6-12 months.

This means businesses may face lower revenue, and then also hold back spending. Typically, marketing budgets are one of the first things that businesses will cut spending on, amongst other things like hiring, travel and other business non-essentials.

So if we are potentially all entering a time of decreased income and decreased spending, how can we all make the most of this time?

Here’s what we are doing to help.

 1. Supporting clients first and foremost.

It’s our job to partner with our clients. This means supporting them through thick and thin. We know every business is different, so different impacts will be felt, so we are in constant communication with our clients to find out how they are coping, how business is overall and if there’s anything else we can do to support them.

When talking with new prospects we discuss the current state of the market, understand how business coped over the last few years and reiterate that marketing is not a short term fix - if any sort of digital marketing investment will cause financial stress then we don’t recommend the investment straight away. We will guide prospects to other organic avenues to help them in the short term and provide a plan to get started when the time is right.

2. Pricing

We take our prices seriously. We pride ourselves on our affordable ad management and web design pricing structures and in turn we don’t frequently raise our prices. Because of our low overheads (see more below) we are able to offer a premium service at an affordable price. It’s important to us that our pricing makes quality digital marketing services available to small businesses.

3. No Lock in contracts

We don’t lock any client into fixed terms. We definitely recommend a minimum term for advertising in order for us to get the best results (usually 3 months but sometimes longer especially for startups), but at the end of the day we know the quality and value of the service we offer and it truly does speak for itself. Most of our clients have been on board with us for over 12 months, some have been with us since day one four years ago.

We will be the first to say if a strategy isn’t working and would much rather maintain a positive relationship and guide you to other strategies than hold on to you as a client purely for the sake of revenue and to your detriment. It’s just not how we do things.

 4. Low overheads

We are able to offer such affordable pricing because we have low overheads. Our team work remotely in their home offices in Brisbane and Adelaide, and we (the owners) also work from our home office. We keep things simple and efficient in our business and can carry that over to our pricing so our clients get access to a premium service without the hefty price tag.

5. Supporting a wide range of industries and markets

We are happy to work with businesses in most industries or global markets. We don’t focus on one particular niche, rather we aim to get a solid understanding of your business and tailor strategies to suit your unique needs. With every client we work with, we learn about their business model, their products, services and their competition. We become a part of their team and we work with them in a collaborative relationship to get the best outcomes.

6. Continued marketing investment

One thing we recommend and one thing we will continue with is investing into our digital marketing. Marketing in a downturn is essential for continued exposure and continued growth.



We don’t recommend having all your eggs in one basket - in marketing terms this is not relying on one single source of new business.

Depending on your budget and financial position, different strategies can be applied that can continue to help your online presence. Even a small budget can make a difference.

For us we will continue our investment in:

1. Google ads
2. Bing ads
3. Social media marketing
4. Website design and optimisation
   
   

Remember an investment in marketing doesn’t always translate into financial investment, an investment of your time can also make a big impact. Doing some marketing activities yourself can be a great way to maintain your digital presence without the added expense of management. Things like blog content, social media content and community engagement are simple activities that can make a big impact on your business and can be quite easily achieved in-house.

Conclusion

We are here to ride the recession wave with you. If you need guidance on what you can invest in over the coming months, please don’t hesitate to reach out on our contact page. One of our directors would be glad to chat and guide you. Remember, we are also entering a crucial seasonal period with Christmas coming up and this can be a great time to get your business out there. A new year is approaching so having a strategy to kick off 2023 will propel you forward with the right mindset and structures in place.