Last week, the NewYorkTimes.com’s Business Day section published an article addressing the interesting consumer conundrum many of us find ourselves in right now – spending is on the rise somewhat, but people are still smarting from the recession, which makes them less likely to buy new things… unless they absolutely have to. Waiting until the TV dies completely to replace it, not running out to grab the latest version of the iPhone (because you just know another newer new one will be arriving soon anyway), treating bargain hunting like a professional sport, etc… The list goes on and on, but what it really boils down to is that, for some Americans, avoiding spending by making things last as long as possible is now a top priority.

So this got me to thinking, and I decided to make an addition to the Back to Basics guide on writing good ad copy (and if you haven’t read those yet, please do):

When writing your copy, are you taking the general mindset of consumers right now (or at any given point in time, of course) into consideration? The recession hit a lot of people hard, and even if the stats say spending is on the rise, that doesn’t mean people actually feel that way. For now, and likely for quite a while to come, people are just going to be leery of spending money on things they don’t need, or they’re waiting until they absolutely have to before replacing something they do need.

This means you need to focus part of your energies in creating copy that speaks to this, whether directly or indirectly. Think about the products you are offering, and look for ways to explain how this is something that’s useful or something that will last a long time. By speaking to these fears and issues, your copy becomes much more enticing, because you’ll not only be demonstrating that you understand the mindset of your customer base, but you’ll also be showing people that whatever you have to offer will solve a problem for them.

At base, this is just another way of selling the benefits instead of the features, which we already know is the way to go whenever possible. And the more you can do to make yourself relatable to your customers, the better off you will be, right?

Naturally, if you are selling true luxuries that people absolutely do not need to survive, then this is going to be more difficult to pull off realistically. If this describes your offers, then please exercise caution, lest you end up looking completely out of touch to potential customers. And if a user happens to be one of those people so worried about spending that they’re washing off the aluminum foil to be used for the third time this week, then there’s likely nothing you can say that will convince them to part with any of their money. But for the people and products that are more middle ground, you have a much better shot at making it work. All in all, different demographics may have different reactions to the recession, but money woes universal enough at the moment that this tactic can nonetheless be as effective as it is broad.