According to The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and the American Advertising Association of American Agencies (AAAA) my biggest worry during this recession should be clients reduced marketing budgets…

While reduced marketing budgets are a symptom of a slow economy, I am more concerned by a disease that flourishes at times of slow economic growth – lack of decision making.

While we can prescribe and nurse our clients marketing budgets back to health, lack of decision making is a condition that can permanently damage a brand, long after economic recovery. In the best of times, most large companies struggle with decision making. Decision making by committee becomes the norm and even the most forward and progressive minds within an organization become part of the “corporate jet stream.” In times of plenty and times of scarcity decision making requires a degree of risk and vision.

The best clients I have ever worked for are those clients that can make decisions. The clients I most respect, are the clients that can make decisions. Not surprisingly, my best and most respected clients are the ones that involve me early in the process; not simply asking for solutions, but making me part of the decision making process.

Our job as consultants is to inform and inspire the decision making process, while mitigating the risks involved. While we can advice, inspire and formulate solutions; ultimately we cannot make the final decision to pull the trigger. We cannot afford not to make decisions for our clients. Every day we make decisions about our client investments; sometimes we get it wrong and learn, most of the time our decisions are right and we succeed. In an environment where decisions are not being made, our value as consultants and the value of our ideas is lost.

While decision making during an economic downturn is challenging, it is a trait worth exercising. To facilitate the process, it is worth keeping in mind a few pointers. 

• Your advertising agency is not responsible for decisions you are unwilling to take. A new agency is unlikely to help you make a decision unless you empower them to do so. Noelle Weaver in Agency Reviews During a Recession alludes to how the agency review process is being affected by the recession.
• Identify and involve the ultimate decision maker. If sign-off is required from your Financial Director pre-empt their questions and concerns, and involve them early in the process. A business case can be powerful but not as powerful as a sense of joint ownership.   
• Prioritize marketing expenditure but continue to manage a pipeline of projects that can be activated at a later time. Define decision making milestones for each individual project. 
• Involve your team in the decision making process; even the most junior members of your team will benefit from understanding how decisions are taken.