Let’s face it—the economic forecast hasn’t exactly been sunshine and rainbows lately. With purse strings tightening, hiring hitting the pause button, and clients clutching their wallets a bit more firmly, investing in growth has been a challenge.

But while your competitors are battening down the hatches on their marketing efforts, you have a rare chance to stand out and seize advantage in a downturn.

The most successful companies use economic contractions to strategically strengthen their market position. Forward-thinking leaders recognize that maintaining or even increasing marketing investments during a bad economy can position their companies for the growth everyone needs when (yes, when!) the market rebounds.

In this article, we’ll dive into how marketing during an economic downturn can help your organization do more than simply weather the storm. You can come out of it more competitive with stronger market positioning and sustainable success that leaves your competitors wondering what just happened.

Why Marketing Matters During Economic Downturns

When economic storm clouds gather, marketing is often one of the first budget lines that take a hit. But that creates more problems than solutions.

The fact is that companies that maintain or increase marketing investments during downturns often emerge as post-recession winners. It’s like getting a head start in a race while everyone else is tying their shoes.

Our CMO, Lesly Cardec, recently shared the story of two companies that, late last year, made opposite decisions with their marketing efforts. One cut their marketing budget by 40%, whereas the other increased theirs by 25%. 

Guess which one is seeing more success today?

Organizations that stay visible through quality marketing during downturns often enjoy:

  • Decreased customer acquisition costs thanks to less competition for things like ad bidding and market attention
  • Brand perception that radiates stability and confidence when those qualities are what everyone is craving
  • A commanding position at the starting line when the economic recovery begins

The Key Signals That It’s Time to Invest in Marketing

Even in a slow economy, certain triggers should have you reaching for the marketing gas pedal. Things such as:

Slowing growth rates: When growth hits the pause button, targeted marketing initiatives can uncover hidden revenue streams and wake up dormant opportunities.

Competitors are backing off: If your competitors are going quiet on their websites, LinkedIn, etc., it’s time to start stepping up.

Launch of new service offerings: Economic shifts create demand for solutions that didn’t exist before, and leading companies see that as a chance to launch something new. Effective marketing can make sure that you stay in front of your audience with those new offerings that will help them.

Growth-Minded Marketing Tactics To Start Today

When you’re looking to invest in marketing during an economic downturn, there are a few tactics that will help you hit the ground running.

Transform Your Employees into Brand Ambassadors

The fact of the matter is that more and more brands are judged based on the people that represent them. People want to do business with people.

Take your CEO, for example. CEO reputation can equate to up to 45% of a brand’s overall reputation. Getting them involved with highlighting the brand outside of the boardroom is a win for their personal brand and for your company’s marketing.

But it’s not just CEOs who should be seen as brand ambassadors. Employee advocacy and ambassadorship can be a huge driver of growth.

Everyone from ops and finance to marketing and sales has the chance to make an impact on how you market in a downturn:

  • Equip your team with clear, compelling messages that help them confidently represent the brand.
  • Train every client-facing team in sales basics so they can spot expansion opportunities hiding in plain sight.
  • Create share-worthy content that employees can leverage across their professional networks to boost sales in a slow economy.

Double Down on Customer Marketing

When new business gets scarce during economic contractions, your existing client relationships become your economic lifeline. After all, these are people and companies who have already grown a relationship with you and have raised their hands to continue working with you.

When was the last time you did a thorough review of your current clients and how you could better support them? When everyone is looking to cut costs where they can, it’s critical to show value in every interaction with your existing customers. 

Focus on deeply understanding and addressing the specific challenges your clients are facing:

  • Work to understand their new financial reality by having honest conversations or even sending out something like a survey to understand how you can better serve them.
  • Create value-packed bundles that deliver more impact than individual solutions, like offering extra consulting hours or creating customer-only events that allow them to connect with others in the industry.
  • Increase executive engagement when possible to elevate relationships beyond transactional interactions.

Develop Industry-Focused Thought Leadership and Community Building

Investing in thought leadership and community building is a cost-friendly way to get your team out in the industry and highlight your brand without just highlighting your services. This approach shows your audience how to prepare for economic challenges while positioning your team as the right partners.

And it doesn’t have to be complicated! Consider:

  • Posting LinkedIn content that highlights your industry expertise or passions.
  • Bring together clients, prospects, and fellow experts for virtual or live panels.
  • Grab your phone and create short-form videos that you can share on social media or beyond. Remember: they don’t need to be perfectly polished, they just need to be valuable.

Share tactics that people can implement today rather than theoretical conversations. While people are looking for long-term stability, they need short-term solutions.

Invest in Digital Marketing and Strategic Advertising

When competition gets quiet, your voice becomes all the more powerful. By doubling down on your advertising efforts during rough economic times, you are continuing to show up consistently to your target audience, building trust and proving your resilience.

Whether you take this time to audit and optimize your existing advertising or take the time to create something new, make sure you are working with an expert team with the experience to ensure your advertising strategy still delivers ROI. Speaking of expertise…

Bring in Expert Support

There’s a time and a place for both internal teams and external support, like fractional hires or agencies. After all, it’s not a matter of one or the other—it’s about using each one when it’s most impactful to your business.

When it comes to marketing during an economic downturn, one of the most critical skills is experience. Has the person you’re working with weathered these storms before? Are they ready to pivot at a moment’s notice and test things just to see what works?

Bringing in external experts like a fractional marketing leader or an agency like ClearEdge can get you specialized expertise from marketing pros who have faced these situations before and know how to sell in a down economy. 

And if you’re unsure whether to grow your team with in-house members or outsourced expertise, our CMO and SVP of ClearEdge Recruiting, Lesly Cardec, recently shared some top tips for how to build a marketing team with a strategy-first mindset.

Seizing the Advantage in a Challenging Market

Economic downturns and recessions are the ultimate sorting mechanism, separating the strategic players from the reactive ones. Companies that respond with unfocused cost-cutting and marketing reductions find themselves watching from the sidelines. Meanwhile, the organizations that make calculated investments in marketing during tough times emerge as the new market leaders.

The question isn’t whether your organization will weather this economic storm. It’s whether you’ll take this opportunity to fundamentally elevate your market position through strategic marketing while others are simply focused on staying afloat.

We know marketing during an economic downturn is hard. ClearEdge specializes in helping talent and HR technology companies achieve all of their growth goals through proven marketing strategies, no matter the economy.

Get in touch with us today to discuss how we can help you not just survive this economy but use it as your launchpad for a whole new level of marketing success that drives sustainable growth.