Well now, it’s obvious and upon us. We are in a recession which some experts say is going to stay for the next year or so. If this is so, we all need to adjust and react accordingly. The biggest thing you may be concerned with is cutting costs to run your business and keep yourself and your company afloat. It’s no joke, a lot of businesses are doing it and starting with communications and marketing being the first budget items to go. This thinking may do more harm than good, and here’s why.

When you think about it, what is going to pull you through hard times?  I believe the number 1 key to this issue is to reinforce your brand and refocus your efforts with a strong communications outlook into your target audience. Experienced Calgary designers, such as myself, are able to put their own thinking, opinions and biases aside to help you and your specific tasks to do just this. The key here being relevance and impact.

And now that the market for media buying has slowed down, you can increase the value of your dollar much more than you could have when the economy was higher. Think about this, when others are pulling back on their spending in this area, you can get  ahead and be way out in front of the competition when we recover.

I also believe that it is much more effective to include a creative mind in the planning process from the beginning and not as something tacked on at the end to improve aesthetics. If you invite your designer to board meetings and realize that they are not just there to make things look good, you can utilize the opportunity to maximize your time with them. Experienced communication designers are skilled at helping groups research, identify and analyze their needs in relation to audiences and competitors. This is a good thing!

Don’t be scared to ask for help. If you are unsure, meet with a designer and ask questions. Cutting corners now will put you at risk for damaging your brand in the long run. I would advise you not to talk to under qualified desktop publishers and inexperienced designers. Make sure you talk to an expert.