A former client helps make the case for spending in a recession

Anyone who's spent any length of time in our business knows that when the economy falters, marketing budgets are the first to be cut and the last to be restored. It's a "circle the wagons" mentality that may save in the short run, but can cost big-time in the long run. That's why it was so good to see TJX Companies sitting atop the 2010 Boston Globe 100 — a ranking of the top performing Massachusetts businesses. Over the last year, while other retailers where cutting their marketing efforts, TJX took the opposite approach and expanded theirs. They found other areas to cut costs and redirect money towards marketing. Their efforts paid off handsomely. Granted, the fact that TJX stores are off-priced, so they tend to see an upswing in business in bad economic times; but the results over the last year reveal that TJX was successful in attracting new shoppers to the franchise — something that's virtually impossible when your marketing efforts go dark. Having worked with TJX companies in the late 90's, I was happy to see that management had fully embraced marketing and resisted the temptation to go for the short term savings. If only more marketers were willing to follow their lead.