WHOA! Someone is Actually Spending More?

Budgets have been a big topic for me lately, mostly because we are wrapping up the planning on several 2009 plans. There have been two big trends I have seen this year:

1. Everyone has been slow getting 2009 up and running.
2. No one wants to tell us what their real budget is.

Number two is what has been giving us the most trouble, because it means we spend a lot of time trying to guess where we should land. And, we hardly ever get it right, so it results in constant revisions.

With our current clients, I think the biggest reason they are hesitant to give us that magic number is because the economy is so unpredictable right now, and they are worried about spending more money and getting fewer sales.

But, marketing professionals know the tough times are not the right time to cut budgets. In fact, because it is harder to get that piece of the pie, you may have to spend more. Scary- I know.

Wal-Mart is proving this theory right. The giant retail chain has been one of the few out there that have been seeing successes in these trying times. And, today, it was released that their measured media budget has increased by over 50%. Now, let's not kid ourselves- their low prices are contributing to their success as well, but in a time that would be easy to be conservative, they have ramped up their advertising.

While increasing budgets by 50% are not realistic for local businesses, staying flat is minimally what you should do. Fighting for the market share now will result in success now and in the future.