How to Market in Downturn
www.hbr.org
FINANCIAL CRISIS SPOTLIGHT
How to Market in a
Downturn
by John A. Quelch and Katherine E. Jocz
•
Included with this full-text Harvard Business Review article:
1 Article Summary
The Idea in Brief—the core idea
The Idea in Practice—putting the idea to work
2 How to Market in a Downturn
12 Further Reading
A list of related materials, with annotations to guide further exploration of the article’s ideas and applications
Reprint R0904D
FINANCIAL CRISIS SPOTLIGHT
How to Market in a Downturn
The Idea in Brief
The Idea in Practice
No two recessions are alike, so you’re in poorly charted waters every time. How should you market in this downturn?
Resegment consumers according to their emotional responses to the recession:
Additional suggestions for tailoring your marketing strategies to consumers’ recession psychology:
• Slam-on-the-brakes consumers feel hardest hit and reduce all spending.
• Pained-but-patients economize, but less aggressively. • Comfortably well-offs keep buying, but more selectively.
• Live-for-todays carry on as usual, though delaying major purchases.
Also identify how members within each segment categorize purchases:
• Essentials are necessary for survival.
• Treats are justifiable indulgences.
• Postponables are desired items that can be bought later.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• Expendables are unjustifiable.
Tune your marketing strategies accordingly.
For example, for slam-on-the-brakes consumers buying treats: shrink packaging sizes, hold prices down, and advertise your products as “you deserve it” small indulgences. MANAGE YOUR MARKETING INVESTMENTS
MARKET THROUGHOUT A RECESSION
To get the biggest returns from your marketing budgets:
To pare costs and shore up sales while preserving your brands’ long-term health:
• Assess opportunities. Determine which of the four segments
FINANCIAL CRISIS SPOTLIGHT
How to Market in a
Downturn
by John A. Quelch and Katherine E. Jocz
•
Included with this full-text Harvard Business Review article:
1 Article Summary
The Idea in Brief—the core idea
The Idea in Practice—putting the idea to work
2 How to Market in a Downturn
12 Further Reading
A list of related materials, with annotations to guide further exploration of the article’s ideas and applications
Reprint R0904D
FINANCIAL CRISIS SPOTLIGHT
How to Market in a Downturn
The Idea in Brief
The Idea in Practice
No two recessions are alike, so you’re in poorly charted waters every time. How should you market in this downturn?
Resegment consumers according to their emotional responses to the recession:
Additional suggestions for tailoring your marketing strategies to consumers’ recession psychology:
• Slam-on-the-brakes consumers feel hardest hit and reduce all spending.
• Pained-but-patients economize, but less aggressively. • Comfortably well-offs keep buying, but more selectively.
• Live-for-todays carry on as usual, though delaying major purchases.
Also identify how members within each segment categorize purchases:
• Essentials are necessary for survival.
• Treats are justifiable indulgences.
• Postponables are desired items that can be bought later.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• Expendables are unjustifiable.
Tune your marketing strategies accordingly.
For example, for slam-on-the-brakes consumers buying treats: shrink packaging sizes, hold prices down, and advertise your products as “you deserve it” small indulgences. MANAGE YOUR MARKETING INVESTMENTS
MARKET THROUGHOUT A RECESSION
To get the biggest returns from your marketing budgets:
To pare costs and shore up sales while preserving your brands’ long-term health:
• Assess opportunities. Determine which of the four segments