In a downturn, a company can sometimes be its own worst enemy. For example, consider marketing, where research suggests that companies that cut their marketing budgets during the last three recessions trailed the growth of their peers by more than 20 per cent once the economy started to improve. These co-authors, consultants with McKinsey & Company, maintain that a focus on improving the effectiveness of marketing spending, and not on the drive for greater efficiency, is the best approach in a recession. Discussing research their firm has done, the authors cite the importance of focusing on what they call the “critical bottlenecks.” Such a focus will enable a company to identify 15 to 25 per cent of its marketing spending that can either be deployed more effectively or make its way directly to the bottom line.
Authors: Christopher Halsall, Kathleen L. McLaughlin
Source: “Ivey Business Journal”
Subject: Marketing / Sales
