Jul
6
Stop Advertising There’s a Recession!
July 6, 2009 | 1 Comment
I came across this story many, many years ago, by an anonymous author, and have kept a laminated copy of it since.
“A man lived by side of the road…..and sold hot dogs.
He was hard of hearing so he had no radio. He had trouble with his eyes so he read no newspaper, nor did he watch TV. But, he sold great hot dogs.
He put a sign up on the highway telling how great they were. He stood by the side of the road and cried, “Hey, You, want to buy a great hot dog?” And people came and they bought. So, he increased his meat and bun order. He bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade.
Then one day his son came home from college to help him.
His son said, “Dad, haven’t you heard the news about the recession? The economy is really bad. The unemployment situation is terrible. The energy situation is even worse. The housing market has went down the drain, and everyone is suffering”
Whereupon the hot dog man thought, “Well my son’s been to college. He reads the newspapers and listens to the radio, he ought to know.” So the father cut down on his meat and bun order. He took down his advertising signs. He no longer bothered to stand by the side of the road and yelled, “Want buy my hot dogs?” And his hot dog sales fell almost over night. “You’re right son.” The hot dog man said to his boy. “We certainly are in the middle of a bad recession!”
So, what is the moral of the story: If you give up doing the things that bring you business when the going gets tough; the going will get tougher.
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Great story. I’d heard it before but it was good to read it, here.
There’s a lot of evidence that firms which continue to advertise or even increase advertising, through a recession come out of the recession with increased market share and a better position in the marketplace than their competitors who short-sightedly cutback!