It’s no secret. Most businesses are experiencing cost-cutting and layoffs. Usually, one of the first expenses a business looks to tighten up is their marketing budget. When businesses are trying to sustain and not grow, it can seem like the logical first step. However, it has been proven time and time again that this can hinder your businesses’ long-term growth. Before drastically cutting or completely eliminating your marketing budget, consider these tactics first:
1. Shift from acquisition to retention – Acquiring new customers is a key way to build revenue. But during an economic downturn, it becomes more expensive and challenging. Customer retention is the name of the game in this slow time. Depending on your business, it could look different. Some common ways to encourage your customers to keep buying long-term include:
Email marketing – Keep your current customers engaged with personalized content, product updates and special offers.
Loyalty programs – Offer discounts, points systems or perks for repeat business.
Exclusive content or experiences – Reward your most loyal customers with early access to new products or exclusive content to keep them invested in your brand.
2. Create content to build trust – Creating content (like this blog!) is a low-cost way to build trust and credibility over the long-term. You can leverage many types of content in the form of video, case studies, organic social media posts, podcasts, etc. Customers are going to be much more hesitant to buy your products in downturns. Creating content positions your brand as a helpful resource and keeps you top of mind when they’re ready to purchase. The key is to drive free value to your customers.
3. Optimize your marketing spend – As for your paid media channels, efficiency is key You need to be regularly making data-informed decisions to keep your ROI as high as possible. Do this by regularly performing a/b tests on ad headlines, descriptions and call to actions. Both in your ad accounts and on your website itself. Focus more on KPIs like Customer lifetime value (CLV), cost-per-acquisition (CPA) and conversion rates. Make sure your ad targeting is updated regularly. Some of your interest and affinities related targeting parameters may not performing as well in a changed economic landscape. Hopefully you have Google Analytics 4 installed to give you a north star into what is providing value.
The cyclical nature of the economy tells us that this economic downturn is bound to end eventually. If you can weather the storm now and not completely ignore your marketing strategy, you have a good chance of coming out the other side even stronger. Hang in there!