For lots of our clients Q4 is a key period. It is the build up to Christmas and often having had a quieter Summer period, clients are keen to increase budgets and see the response rates increase. With so much negative news they are all wondering if Q4 will be their usual ‘best quarter’ so clients are seeking some reassurance. My crystal ball is a bit cloudy, but I do think that there are some reasons to be cheerful amongst the doom and gloom in the news.
Firstly, confidence is at its lowest when thing are ‘uncertain’ – so, like her or not, for the time being we have a leader and one of her priorities is to address the energy crisis which is impacting every business and consumer at the moment.
Secondly, although the death of our Queen rocked and saddened the Nation, it also brought us together, I don’t think anyone would have foreseen the number of people who wanted to make their appreciation shown to her not just in the UK but all over the world. Nothing like this has ever happened in our lifetime and I don’t suppose it will happen again. The doubts about the suitability of King Charles seemed to disappear, perhaps it would have seemed disrespectful to the late Queen to focus on this.
Finally, I think that once the temperature drops and the cold, dark nights draw in people will change their habits for the better in an effort to conserve energy, because they will have to. Leaving fewer lights on, heating fewer rooms, wearing more layers, drawing the curtains: all these efforts will reduce our consumption. And, with a bit of help from Ms Truss, it might just not be as bad as people thought, particularly with interest now being paid on savings then there could be a bit more money in the pot for spending in the build up to Christmas…
Alice Buttling, MD