I suppose it would be understandable if people believe the dust has settled now the referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union has been and gone.
When of course the reality is, only some of the metaphorical dust has settled. Most of it is still floating and will be for some time to come.
However, I think it would be fair to say that most of the predictions put out by both camps have yet to come true.
The doom and disasters the remains predicted or the feelings of freedom from EU rules the brexiters promised us; never happened on the morning of the 24th of June.
This is because we were still in the EU, and will be for at least a year, and most likely longer.
Of course, there were some adverse effects of the referendum result. The stock markets fluctuated wildly for a while but soon settled down. And, is currently growing strongly.
Even though the pound dropped in value against most of the world’s major currencies. This is a great boon to exporters and means that our manufacturing base will see a welcome fillip to its efforts with a substantial boost to our foreign currency earnings.
Those whose businesses rely in some way on imported goods will see the downside of a devalued pound. But price rises in the supply chain happen from time to time, so this does not have to be a major setback to business.
In the past few days, there has been some news from the Bank of England regarding a slowdown in the economy. This news has been accompanied by reports of uncertainty among businesses and consumers.
It would be fair to say that this feeling of uncertainty could just be a knee-jerk reaction to the left result, and it could disappear once the negotiations regarding our leaving the EU begin in earnest.
Some people are talking about the possibility of a recession. However the current UK economy is underpinned by low inflation and low-interest rates, and with the highest ever number of people in work creating disposable income that will keep consumer activity strong for a while to come yet.
If the economy does slip into recession during the next 2 to 5 years, one thing that is statistically proven is that consumers and businesses alike favour well-known brands in their choice of suppliers and service providers. So any company seeking leaflet distribution will more likely come to DOR-2-DOR offering a predictable, proven service rather than choosing a lesser or unknown competitor.
As a B2B service, we know at DOR-2-DOR that, business people are used to facing challenges (that’s why they have a business rather than simply a job). Any slowdown in consumer confidence, or even recession, is something that they have experienced before and know how to deal with, and that doesn’t include cutting back on their marketing.
Modern well-run businesses know that it is a false economy to reduce their marketing spend. Although all expenditure should be scrutinised in times of austerity, spending on advertising should not be reduced to a point when it becomes ineffective.
It is a well-known statistic that those businesses that advertise and promote more during a recession come out the other side stronger and better because the competition has withered after reducing and shrinking its advertising promotional activities.
If a business thinks things are going to be worse for it during an economic downturn, it probably will, however, any business that thinks it is going to do better with more opportunities will likewise find it probably does.
There will always be people with money to spend even in a downturn. And these people need to know you are still open for business.
The people who have money but are reluctant to spend it, those suffering from “consumer uncertainty,” need to be persuaded to make a purchase.
Of course, leaving the EU may not bring a recession, and the consumer uncertainty may be short lived.
Being free from EU regulations may bring in a new age of prosperity and booming business.
The economic outcome of the decision to leave the European Union lies in the future.
The problem with the future is no one has been there.
My advice to marketers’ is do what you always do. Take advice, plan your campaigns carefully, and keep an eye on the ROI, in other words, business as usual – carry on!
