The Economy is Not Improving: How Can Marketing Help?

If you look at the chart below, it’s clear the job outlook is not positive.  The illusion of a “recovery” is fading and long-term reality is setting in for many individuals and companies.  As we look at 2015 94 million Americans are out of work and the labor participation rate is the lowest since WWII. “Unemployment” is down only because more people have left the labor force. A smaller denominator in the equation makes the percentage lower. So, in light of the following chart (source: http://www.businessinsider.com/clusterstock), ask yourself some marketing questions:

• Is my marketing plan up to date?
• Can I tweak rather than slash my marketing budget?
• Can I use more social media in my marketing campaigns?
• Is marketing a verb or a burden?
• Am I increasing rather than decreasing daily marketing activities?
• Am I asking the question, “What product am I really selling and to whom?”
• Do I see this long-term recession as an opportunity instead of an obstacle?
• Are you reminding yourself that HP, FedX, Microsoft, and GE were all founded during recessions?

By Stuart Atkins