There is a chance of the United States entering a recession, and economists are now saying that it’s 100%. If you have time to prepare for a worsening economy, reevaluating your business expenses makes sense. While preparing for a recession, you’re probably wondering where cuts can be made or how budgets can be trimmed down.
It’s natural to want to kick our survival instinct into gear when our lives and businesses get turned upside down. We worry about our ventures surviving, so it’s common sense to want to cut all expenses and brace ourselves for the worst-case scenario. The first area small businesses often turn to is their marketing budgets.
Marketing may seem unnecessary when business is already slow, but it’s actually one of the smartest investments you can make — especially during tough economic times.
Marketing In a Recession: Why You Should Keep Doing It (Or Do More Of It)
The thing about a marketing plan is that it’s not an immediate return on investment like, say, inventory or office space. It’s more of a long-term strategy that builds over time to create brand awareness, customer loyalty, and, eventually, increased sales.
Think about it this way: If you stop marketing your business during a recession, your customer base will forget about you. They’ll start doing business with your competitors who are still marketing their businesses during an economic downturn, and when the recession is over, they may not return to you.
On the other hand, if you keep your marketing efforts strong during a recession, you’ll stay top of mind with your customers, and they’ll be more likely to do business with you when the economy improves. This is actually a smart business move because it helps you weather the tough times and come out ahead of your competitors when consumer spending starts to improve.
Marketing Keeps You Top of Mind
As we mentioned, marketing helps you stay top of mind with your loyal customers, and that’s important during an economic downturn. When people are cutting back on their spending, they’re more likely to do business with companies they’re familiar with. If they don’t know about your company or haven’t heard from you in a while, they’re not going to think of you when they’re ready to start spending again.
Marketing Helps You Attract New Customers
Even if your existing customers are cutting back on their spending during difficult times, marketing can help you attract new customers. During a recession, people are looking for deals since purchases are more price sensitive, and if you’re marketing your business properly, they’ll know about the deals you’re offering. This is a great way to bring in new business and offset any loss in sales from existing customers.
Marketing Helps You Build Your Brand
A recession is a great time to focus on building your brand. With marketing, you can create a strong brand identity that will help you stand out from your competitors. This is important because when the economy does start to improve, people will remember your brand and be more likely to transact with you.
Marketing Keeps You Ahead of Your Competitors
If your competitors are cutting back on their marketing costs and advertising expenditures, this is a great opportunity for you to get ahead. By continuing to market your business, your marketing team will be able to reach more people and build stronger relationships with your customers. When the economy does start to improve, you’ll be in a better position than your competitors who cut back on their marketing efforts.
Marketing Is an Investment, Not an Expense
Many small businesses see marketing as an expense, but it’s actually an investment. Unlike other expenses, marketing has the potential to bring in a return on your investment. If you’re not marketing your business during a recession, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to grow your market share.
How To Market In a Recession
Is marketing recession-proof? We think so, but we also understand that marketing in a recession can be challenging. Let’s take a look at some marketing tactics that make sense when the threat of a recession looms.
1. Use content marketing to educate your customers.
Content marketing is a great way to educate your customers about your products and services. By creating blog posts, eBooks, infographics, and other types of content, you can show your customers how your products can help them save money or solve a problem.
2. Get creative with your offers.
People look for deals during a recession, so get creative with your offers. If you’re a B2B company, offer discounts on long-term contracts. If you’re a B2C company, offer discounts on your products or services.
3. Focus on your existing customers.
Your existing customers are your best bet during uncertain times, so focus on marketing to them and improving the customer experience. Send them personal emails, give them exclusive offers, and find other ways to show them how much you appreciate their business to forge an emotional connection.
4. Take advantage of digital marketing.
Digital marketing is a great way to reach your customers during a recession. With tools like SEO, social media marketing, and email marketing, you can reach a large number of people with your marketing messages.
5. Invest in long-term marketing strategies.
Recessions don’t last forever, so it’s essential to invest in long-term marketing strategies. This includes things like search engine optimization, content marketing, and social media marketing. By investing in these strategies now, you’ll be prepared for when the economy does start to improve.
The best part of all these strategies is that they don’t cost a lot of money. In fact, some of them (like content marketing and social media marketing) are organic and can be done easily. So there’s no excuse to be scaling back on your marketing activities during a recession.
Need Help Getting Your Marketing On Track? Call Markitors
If you need help ensuring that your marketing strategies remain strong and steady even during a recession, we can help. At Markitors, we specialize in digital marketing, and we’re experts at helping businesses reach their target audiences and find ways to drive conversions.
Contact us today to learn more about how Markitors can help you grow your business during a recession.
