How to Adapt Your Marketing for a Recession

It is surely insanity to think your usual marketing messages and advertising can remain unchanged at this time. If you’re shaking your head when you watch ads reflecting business as usual, relook at your own and consider how your customers may be reacting to what you’re pushing out.

During this cost-of-living crisis, businesses are again being thrown the unenviable marketing challenge of getting both the tone and investment of their marketing appropriate to the current times. Get it wrong and you’ll be damned – either financially or socially.

As a knee-jerk reaction companies may opt to cut marketing all together as a cost and expense control measure, which can cripple a business that is barely recovering from the pandemic impacts. Worst yet, are those companies that keep ploughing on, and don’t make the necessary changes to their messaging to reflect the straightened times. Both options are certain to doom companies because neither strategy deal with the current situation in a proactive and engaging way. These companies, in panic mode, are cutting off their business pipelines for future sales.

All businesses, during these uncertain times, should adapt their marketing and sales approaches for their business. Most businesses can find ways to continue to serve customers, it just might be a different group to those served before, or with different product or service options. With change always comes opportunity – fact! Have you looked for what will be the opportunity for your business in this new economic cycle? What group of customers newly need your support?

Above all, businesses shouldn’t be resigned to simply cutting all ties with customers and prospects and hope that when the crisis is over, they are still there! If customers have found alternative options or have found ways to survive without a company’s product or services, those customers are likely to vanish, forever. How are your customers reacting now?

At a minimum maintaining ties with your customers and focusing messaging appropriately will go a long way in curbing the effects of the impending economic downturn. Customers may not be searching for or able to purchase your products at this time, but it is still critical to remain visible and relevant.

Marketing Activities to Investigate During the Crisis:

Keep a Strong SEO Strategy to Enhance Site Visibility

Maintaining a strong SEO strategy will help keep your business visible and accessible through this recession. Consider which products or services are most relevant in this environment? Has your target audience changed? Even though some customers might not be able to purchase your products or services in the same way, an operating and useful website can be your lifeline to consumers, who will still have questions you can help with.

Create New Content to Increase Your Brand’s Trustworthiness

FAQs and ‘how to’ guides can add real value for your loyal customers and prospects at this time. Now is the time to stand out by being the ‘expert voice’, just at the time when your competitors might be stepping back and reducing their marketing involvement.

Earning trust by being the point of useful information and advice will place you in a great position for when customers are ready to spend again. Be regular and consistent with your audience, so they come to expect your updates and news – whether on blogs, Facebook or Instagram lives, YouTube videos or email newsletters.

Optimise Your Marketing Spend - Test and Measure

Firstly, do you know what return on investment (ROI) you are getting from your existing marketing? If not, start measuring - by tracking back a few months if the data is available. With the tracking functionality of digital it’s inexcusable not to know if your marketing is bringing in business. And yes – in the SME world, Marketing’s sole job is to attract leads that can buy. Pure brand building should be left to the big guys. Then leverage the strategies that work best and cost the least per lead.

There is much you can do yourself in terms of writing blogs, guides, FAQ, social media posts, video content or SEO. Also look out for advertising deals as the paid marketplace gets less crowded.

Consider shifting budgets instead of stopping marketing all together. Moving resources and budget to digital display, social media and online pay-per-click channels may be a better way to keep your business relevant and visible to current and future customers.

Google AdWords, Facebook Ads are easy to test and measure, track results and whilst having full control of spend. Increasing Direct Marketing - whether by mail or email marketing can shorten the time from awareness to purchase.

Adjust Your Message and CTAs (calls-to-action) to Fit the Times and Circumstances

The newly released John Lewis Christmas advert is being unanimously praised for being ‘on message’ at this time. But what about your advertising messages (including social posts)? 

If your ad messaging doesn’t reflect the changes in the consumer and business environment, your business will feel inauthentic and out of touch. Your message should shift to provide customer information that will help them through the crisis and shout about what you are doing differently to serve your target audiences.

Conclusion

Ultimately, changing the way you market your business isn’t an option at this point – it’s a necessity. Now is the time to position your organisation as a compassionate, resourceful, and value-based organisation. Providing your customers and prospects added education, news and information to make their lives easier or more secure will position your organisation in a better light.

Shifts and pivots must happen now. We saw from the early weeks and months of the pandemic, the early bird really does catch the worm! It is time to look up and outwards, freshen up and then shout loud in your marketplace to keep your business thriving as much as possible until this crisis subsides.

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