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Over two-thirds (72 per cent) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are now expecting a recession. However, under one third (28 per cent) have rewritten or adapted their marketing plan to prepare for it, according to research from marketing company New Brand Vision.

Ben Harris, MD of New Brand Vision, says: ‘Many SMEs were not in business during the last recession and won’t anticipate how they could be affected. It’s worrying that, with so many firms expecting a downturn, so few are actually taking steps to plan for it.’

The email survey of 175 SMEs reveals that website updates, search engine optimisation and direct mail are considered the best ways of reaching your market when budgets are tight. On the other hand, traditional advertising (on the TV or radio, or in the press), brochure updates and exhibitions are most likely to suffer from cuts in the marketing budget.

Despite this preference for online marketing in a downturn, search engine optimisation, pay-per-click advertising and online banner advertising are rated as providing a lower return on investment than traditional advertising and direct mail.

Harris comments: ‘It may be that unlike traditional advertising, when the work goes in prior to the campaign launch, online marketing often requires the bulk of the effort during the campaign. SMEs should persist.’

The survey reveals scepticism surrounding the use of social networking websites and blogs. Some 61 per cent do not use social networks as part of their marketing strategy, and have no plans to start, while 67 per cent say blogs are ‘overrated’ as a marketing tool.

Meanwhile, some 29 per cent of companies admit they have not updated their websites in the past month, with roughly half of these having made no updates in the past year.

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