Marketing During Economic Uncertainty: 7 key strategy tips
Marketing budgets are tightening as a result of recent economic volatility, and times like these present challenges for marketing executives and business owners.
We learned during COVID that companies can not only survive but thrive during economic downturns by taking advantage of opportunities to innovate, communicate, and adapt. At BroadBased, this is the approach we use to help clients navigate uncertainty and optimize marketing strategies.
Below are 7 tips that prioritize cost-efficient customer acquisition and renewed customer relations efforts to keep your team and strategy performing at a high level.
1. Sharpen Your Understanding of ROI Calculations
If you’ve never been able to “crack the code” of marketing ROI, now more than ever is the time. High-level ROI reporting like cost-per-acquisition metrics is important, but you have to dig deeper to find out specifically which tactics are delivering the most value. A data-driven approach will allow you to track and demonstrate true returns. Economic challenges create higher expectations for ROI reporting, making this a discipline that marketers need to master—and your CFO will appreciate.
2. Maximize Budget Efficiency
Getting the most out of your marketing budget is crucial during challenging times, and the best way to do this is by investing in areas that make the highest impact. Instead of brute-force cutbacks on marketing spend, reallocate funds from low-performing channels into high-value tactics and strategies. This can include tightening up audience targeting, focusing on social media platforms with proven performance, or enhancing existing content pieces with high engagement rates.
3. Don’t Forget About Current Customers
When we focus the majority of our marketing efforts on new customers, this can come at the expense of current customers. To prevent churn, we must continue providing value to existing customers and reward their loyalty. Optimizing existing strategies and relationships with customers who are feeling the same sense of uncertainty will strengthen their connection to your company and position you as indispensable. It’s also important to think about ways you can enhance customer service and improve the overall experience your customers receive. Be thoughtful about the content you’re creating—how it can attract new customers while providing insight and expertise to your current ones. Webinars, market research, and podcasts are great examples.
4. Match Your Message With Empathy
Empathy has always been one of the most effective tools for marketers, and now this is especially true. Showcasing your understanding of customer challenges and highlighting how your solutions can serve them during difficult periods should be a theme incorporated into all campaign messaging. This can be a competitive differentiator because it gives you a unique voice in your market and positions you as a forward-thinking leader. Simply ignoring the sentiment that customers are bombarded with every day is not an option. Instead, demonstrate that you have the expertise to meet challenges head-on as a trusted partner—not just another generic vendor that can easily be replaced or removed altogether.
5. Keep Up Appearances
Another lesson we learned from past economic downturns is the importance of staying visible during turbulent times. Companies that doubled down on ensuring their customers saw them and heard them were able to stay connected and leverage that increased presence when things returned to normal. Technology has made it easier to increase visibility without overspending—and it will pay off in the long run. Leverage AI tools to help develop new “seed” ideas for content strategies, social media posting, and hyper-personalization with email campaigns.
6. Honesty Is the Best Policy
If you’re a company directly affected by tariffs or changes in the supply chain, remaining open and transparent about these impacts with your customers is critical. You have to control the narrative when it comes to these issues and ensure your customers are made aware of any changes or delays resulting from outside circumstances. Nobody likes surprises—but they can be softened by open and honest communication that positions you as a trusted partner whose primary goal is serving your customers. Simple videos can be a cost-effective tool for this.
7. Outsource Marketing To Offset Staff Reductions
While marketing budgets and positions are often the first to go, that doesn’t mean you should stop marketing altogether. Platforms have now emerged that allow you to source experienced marketers and executives on a short-term or fractional basis. You can leverage this to strengthen your bench for tactical support or gain strategic acumen with seasoned C-level leaders. This gives you control over your budget without sacrificing performance—and it can be scaled up as we emerge from the current business environment.
In Summary
We can’t control the events that cause market changes, but we can control how we react to them. Experienced marketing leadership can steer through rough waters, and attention to detail is key to success. If you’d like to schedule a strategy session with BroadBased to discuss any new challenges you’re facing, get in touch here. With 29 years in business, we’ve been through this “season” more than once—and are happy to share what we’ve learned.
