Call it a ‘Credit Crunch’, recession, downturn or even depression, it makes little difference to the overall effect; there is less money around and corporate budgets are being cut. Historically, the first business disciplines to get the squeeze are branding, advertising and marketing. We’ve seen it so many times before, as soon as the money gets tight, the accountants that run the business decide to let the investment in branding and awareness tumble to a position close to the bottom of the business priorities list and the money spent on them is slashed. Strong Brands Increase SalesNow, if you are a person who is in control of or have influence over a corporate budget and are considering budget cuts, please take time first to understand the importance of branding to your business. The company’s brand is what sets it apart from others in the mar Raleigh Guitar Lessons ket, it has been proven so many times that it is almost common knowledge, if you have a strong brand consumers will choose your products or services over others in the market. A strong brand is also an excellent negotiating tool when dealing with wholesalers and resellers. If at this time your company already has a strong brand, it would be suicide to slash budgets now, as without the right treatment, the brand will weaken very quickly. This will have an effect on sales and margins. If anything, this is the time to increase branding activity. And if your brand is currently weak, get to work on building it fast. Challenge the Marketing TeamThat’s not to say you should meet all the demands of your marketing and branding teams. This is the time to challenge them. You understand the importance of the brand, so you don’t want branding activity to suffer.