Do You Believe The ‘No Recession’ B.S.?
By Anna Johnson on March 5th, 2009If some of the Internet marketing ‘gurus’ are to believed, there is no recession and we can all merrily go about making millions right now. Some of the emails are so smug and self-serving I just have to wonder if these guys are living in fantasy land. Don’t they realize the people they’re emailing might really be hurting right now?
I’m the first person to suggest we focus on the positives and seize the opportunities created by the recession (and there are many). But we can’t ignore the impact that tough economic times have on, not just our friends, family and colleagues, but also our customers and subscribers.
Last week, the seriousness of the recession was brought home to Australians when several large companies announced massive layoffs. Perhaps little noticed by most was that one of our top tier law firms laid off about 100 people.
As a lawyer who earned my legal stripes at another of the top tier firms, this was shocking to me. Until now, it’s been almost unheard of for a prestigious Australian law firm to lay off so many staff in one hit.
Meanwhile, top law firms are laying off staff in the U.K. and the U.S. And they’re doing so because THEIR clients are suffering badly.
I’m generally opposed to governments bailing out companies, but the impact of 300,000+ employees losing their jobs if General Motors goes under must be weighing heavily on the minds of those in the U.S. government.
All this – and much more – is going on… and yet we still receive emails from marketers who seem oblivious to the turmoil going on around them. If they, themselves, are thriving right now… then what about some appreciation that their subscribers or customers may be among those who have been – or may be – laid off or in serious financial difficulty?
None of this is to say that email marketers should preach gloom and doom. Not by a long shot. In fact, the most effective messages right now are likely to be those that focus on how to help people become, if not ‘recession-proof’ then ‘recession-resistant’.
Nor is it to say that email after email should even mention the recession. Of course not.
I just think that marketers who acknowledge what is going on in the lives of their subscribers and customers – and keep that context in mind when emailing them – are likely to maintain much better relationships with their lists. Which in turn, is more likely to result in subscriber and customer loyalty, and yes, sales.
