Cutting Costs in Advertising: When to Restrategize and Cut Back

Law firms are feeling the pressure of the current economy. Many are looking for ways to cut costs, and advertising is often one of the first areas to be targeted. However, cutting back on advertising can be a mistake — it can allow your competitors to overtake you and it can be difficult to make a comeback. In this blog post we will discuss when it is okay to cut costs in advertising and when you should avoid doing so. 

It’s Okay to Restrategize But Don’t Cut Costs Completely

In tough economic times, it’s understandable that law firms would want to cut costs. However, advertising should not be the first area to be targeted. Advertising is an important part of any business, and it can be a powerful tool for attracting new clients. Cutting costs completely or even drastically can actually be worse for your law firm. 

When you’re trying to attract new clients it isn’t wise to stop trying to reach them. If you’re feeling pressure to cut costs, it’s okay to restrategize your advertising budget. But don’t cut costs completely – this can allow your competitors to take advantage of the situation and overtake you in the market.

Don’t Let Your Competitors Overshadow You

When law firms are cutting back on advertising, their competitors often see a benefit with more reasonable costs-per-clicks due to less competition. This also allows them to better scale their advertising and even increase their spending tightening their grip on the market share.. This can lead to your firm being overshadowed in the market so if you cut back on your advertising spend and your competitors don’t, they’ll easily be able to outrank your firm and it’s digital visibility will decrease. When your visibility begins to decrease it will make it hard for potential new clients to find your law firm when they are searching for divorce & family law services in your area.

Times When You Should Avoid Cutting Back

Anytime the economy is down and business slows, it is common for businesses everywhere to try and cut costs where they can. This is a wise idea, but like anything else, there needs to be a strategy involved. It matters where you cut costs and how you reallocate your budget. Many people think that cutting their marketing spend should be the first and most obvious place to decrease during times like this. However, that is far from the truth.

During the recession in the early 90s, Mcdonald’s decided to cut their advertising expenses, but their competitors did not. In fact, they seized the opportunity. Taco Bell’s sales grew by 40%. Pizza Hut’s sales grew by 61% and McDonald’s sales decreased by 28%. Don’t give your competitors this opportunity, because they will take it.

Times When It’s Okay to Cutback

Scaling back on how much you spend on marketing and restrategizing your marketing campaigns is much more beneficial. Maybe it’s running a different campaign that is more generalized or perhaps it is only running a few of your top performing campaigns, this will always be better than cutting your marketing spend completely. This will help your divorce & family law firm remain relevant and visible to any potential new clients searching for your services.

Some other times it’s okay to cutback or refocus how you are spending on advertising could be your firm being at max capacity or maybe you have a campaign that is simply underperforming. While these are good reasons for cutting back, you don’t want to slash your budget completely at the risk of losing your presence in the digital space to your competitors.

If You Cut Costs Completely it Won’t Be An Easy Comeback

Growing your presence in the digital space is similar to growing a plant. You don’t just plant the seed and walk away. You have to continuously water the plant, re-pot it, and continue nurturing it throughout its entire lifespan and marketing is no different. If you neglect your firm’s campaign or hault all advertising your digital presence will begin to die off and you will have to start the process all over.

At The End Of The Day

Think carefully about where and how you are cutting back on expenses. While it’s fine to scale back you should never fully cut your marketing budget, because it will impact your firm and not in a positive way. Don’t give your competitors the opportunity to get in front of clients that could be yours. An uncertain economy can be scary, but one thing we are certain is that continuing to advertise should never be up for negotiation. Contact us today if you are looking to make the most out of your marketing budget with proven effective highly optimized campaigns.