This blog post is written by Kathy Floam-Greenspan and appears on the Forbes Agency Council. You can read the full post here.

Economic uncertainty, like the laws of physics, is an inevitable part of a company’s life cycle. What goes up will, at some point, come back down.

For many business leaders, economic uncertainty seems to be coming around a lot more often than it did before.

They may be on to something.

According to the Harvard Business Review, researchers have documented an uptick in economic uncertainty, identifying five modern crises amplifying uncertainty across various sectors. When coupled with the fact that 75% of CEOs expect declining growth in the year ahead and 40% think their company “will no longer be economically viable a decade from now,” it’s no wonder that people feel uncertain about their company’s future.

Often, a leader’s first response to uncertainty is to slash advertising and marketing budgets. For example, one 2022 survey found that 75% of respondents said that “signals of economic downturn” impact their media budget decisions, and 30% plan to cut their budgets in 2023.

However, leaders should be careful not to react too quickly. Nielsen notes that, historically, 75% of recessions last less than a year, and 30% last just two quarters. Economic uncertainty is cyclical, and every down cycle brings challenges and opportunities that will determine a brand’s potential moving forward.

Why does marketing during times of uncertainty matter?

Marketing through uncertainty requires a disciplined, data-driven resolve to maximize the most important outcomes.

For starters, leaders must leverage historical insights to determine potential impact. During the Great Recession, 63% of brands that increased their marketing investment saw positive ROI from their efforts.

What’s more, as Nielsen reports, “Considering most brands are already under-spending—depressing their ROIs by a median of 50%—any additional cutting of media expenses could only serve to reduce ROI further, at a time when brands need to maximize profits most.”

Meanwhile, when brands prioritize marketing spending, they continue to work toward critical outcomes, including:

• Maintaining brand visibility and staying top-of-mind.
• Building and strengthening customer relationships.
• Capitalizing on competitors’ reduced marketing efforts.
• Adapting to changing consumer behavior and preferences.

Economic uncertainty doesn’t necessarily indicate an imminent downturn, but even when times get tough, companies can still thrive, and the right marketing strategies can help make that possible…

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This blog post is written by Kathy Floam-Greenspan and appears on the Forbes Agency Council. You can read the full post here.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) can be a significant business opportunity, but they can also be corrosive to company culture, causing people to leave when expertise and stability matter most.

Before the recent pandemic and the accompanying “great resignation,” an EY report found that nearly half of a company’s key employees depart within a year of a merger or acquisition, and 75% leave within three years of a transaction. This reality is even more prevalent today as employees are increasingly willing to quit their jobs in search of better opportunities.

Since M&As can create significant organizational anxiety and swift cultural change, it’s unsurprising that turnover often accompanies the process. While employees change jobs for many reasons, company culture is often one of the most common reasons.

That’s why businesses need a “we first” mindset when combining teams post-merger and acquisition. Here are four ways leaders can begin creating that dynamic now:

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This blog post is written by Kathy Floam-Greenspan and appears on the Forbes Agency Council. You can read the full post here.

A company’s brand is its most valuable and important asset. Regardless of sector, product offering or customer base, this intangible resource separates successful businesses from the competition. In the B2B sector, which requires prolonged sales cycles for enterprises to become recurring customers, long-standing brand value is especially critical.

It may not be reflected on its balance sheet, but a company’s brand brings immense value to a merger or acquisition (M&A). As a recent Deloitte report succinctly explains, “The value of a strong brand cannot be underestimated in today’s fast-moving commercial environments, where customer loyalty is notoriously difficult to acquire and sustain.”

Consequently, B2B brand consolidation is a critical—if often overlooked—component of an effective merger or acquisition.

With M&As accelerating in today’s disruptive, high-stakes B2B landscape, companies must maximize value and opportunity from the process, requiring a strategic brand consolidation plan that produces needed results.

Here are three ways companies can implement a strategic brand consolidation plan from day one:

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This blog post is written by Kathy Floam-Greenspan and appears on the Forbes Agency Council. You can read the full post here.

In 2022, effective marketing and content creation are inextricably linked. It’s one of the best ways to regularly connect with your audience while boosting your reputation and credibility.

The Content Marketing Institute helpfully defines content marketing as “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

In today’s digital-first consumer ecosystem, it’s increasingly important to generate content for potential and recurring buyers. Consider that 54% of B2B decision-makers report spending more than one hour reviewing thought leadership content each week. Meanwhile, nearly half of buyers view three to five pieces of content before initiating a sales process, and 96% of B2B buyers review thought leadership before making a purchase. Overall, nearly 50% of companies plan to grow their content teams this year, with recruitment for content creators, content marketing managers and content strategies leading the way.

Of course, more content is being generated than ever before, making it more difficult for brands to break through the noise and reach their target audience. Here are five factors that can help companies reach their audience with greater frequency and effectiveness.

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This blog post is written by Kathy Floam-Greenspan and appears on the Forbes Agency Council. You can read the full post here.

In today’s crowded online ecosystem, highly effective, breakthrough B2B marketing is more difficult to achieve than ever before. There is so much noise — so much content — that it takes sustained effort to break through.

Like trying to attract attention in a crowded room, gaining recognition, generating leads and increasing sales don’t happen by accident. As a result, effective B2B marketing campaigns take longer and are more involved than we often expect or believe.

This common misconception often keeps B2B SMBs from crafting appropriate target personas that generate new leads.

That’s not to say that B2B marketing is ineffective. According to one report, 60% of always-on, sustained marketing programs are successful. Instead, we need to reorient our thinking about B2B marketing. Embracing the right mindset and pursuing the right outcomes can make marketing campaigns a success.

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