Preparing for emergencies, recessions, and other threats are essential for small businesses as they often don’t have the financial reserves to help them weather economic difficulties.

However, most entrepreneurs and managers don’t indulge in planning for a crisis until it’s too late. The false feeling of security is too beautiful to be ignored when everything’s going right, and the economy is on the up.

They don’t realize that small businesses are the first to go broke when the going gets tough, and the fact of the matter is that the next recession is always on the horizon.

This year we have seen the threat of a world war and a raging pandemic upend the lives of millions of people from across the globe. The repercussions are dire, and yet some businesses are faring a lot better than others. Many of them have invested in recession-proof marketing tactics and you can too.

7 Marketing Strategies That’ll Recession-Proof Your Brand

For brands that understand their customers’ changing needs, recessions can be a time of great opportunity.

Recession-proof your business by fulfilling your client’s unique needs and picking up market share by providing real value. It’ll only take some planning and due diligence to increase your profit margins when others are shutting down their businesses

Here are some tried-and-tested ways to prepare a recession-proof marketing strategy to ensure that your organization weathers this storm and also emerges from it unscathed.

1. Re-Evaluate Your Brand Positioning

According to a survey, 77% of B2B marketing leaders say that branding is critical for business growth. For that reason, you must reassess your brand positioning and prepare for unforeseen challenges that might pose a risk to your business. An economic depression might be the best time to take stock of the industry landscape and determine the effectiveness of your unique value proposition for existing scenarios.

Additionally, understand that recessions tend to change customer behaviors, forcing them to reconsider their priorities when it comes to spending money. So first of all, assess how your competition is positioning their offerings for an evolving market – this will help you identify areas that can differentiate your brand in front of your prospects.

Secondly, use your marketing messages to address the unique needs of consumers who are struggling during this recession. Offer viable alternatives that can help them solve their problems – this can give you a considerable head start over the competition.

2. Leverage Your Distinctive Value

What do you do best? What sets you apart from your competition?

Find the answers because they are your key to surviving an economic crisis

Understand your unique brand values and market them in a way that helps your customers relate with your offerings. You can accomplish this by evaluating your customer’s perceptions of your brand, and then delivering according to their expectations.

So instead of losing your consumers to an economic downturn offer them value that makes them more loyal to you. This value-based approach increases access to your brand using promotional programs, informational marketing, and more.

Also, if you target niche industries with specific products and services, you have a better chance of withstanding a recession because customers in these markets often don’t have a wealth of options. So if you can weather the economic impact of a downturn and help them do the same, they’ll love you all the more for it.

3. Build Your Email List

This is quite possibly the best way to sustain your business during a recession. This is a great time to warm up old leads, get in touch with previous clients and retarget one-time buyers – and email gives you the perfect opportunity to do just that.

This is a massive benefit if you are nervous about investing your resources in acquiring new customers. Entice them with loyalty rewards, offer referral bonuses, and send out email newsletters regularly to stay on top of their minds.

It’s also heartening to know that 80% of marketers claim that email is the best way to acquire new customers. Use B2B email marketing strategies to build your list and manage customer relationships through your CRM system.

This is how you can nurture the leads in your email list and reach out to them to market your products or services.

4. Invest In Data-Driven Insights

Use data gathering and tracking programs, such as Google Analytics, to help you identify the needs of your target market as well as the best marketing strategies that’ll enhance your branding and sales manifold.

This data can serve a vital purpose before and during an economic crisis. So start digging deep and also evaluate the pattern of your sales reports and consumer trends.

Learning about your customers is critical to understanding changes in their preferences when the economy plunges. Your company can use this information to create marketing strategies that provide value to your customers and fulfill their requirements despite the challenging times.

Implement the most suitable recession-proof marketing tactics, and then identify the best performing campaigns and continue using them to bring in business throughout the recession.

5. Gather Customer Reviews And Testimonials

Regardless of the industry you operate in, your biggest asset in recession will be your current customer base.

So make sure that your marketing strategies target your most valuable and happiest clients. Bend over backward if you must to ensure that they are happy – and if they are pleased, they’ll reward you with their loyalty

These satisfied customers can recommend your business, bring in referrals, and leave glowing reviews and testimonials for you.

These customer reviews are an essential strategy for marketing your business in a recession. They have the power to influence purchase decisions for prospective customers by validating your company’s reputation.

Research has found that 30% of consumers trust online reviews and make their buying decisions based on them. Therefore, asking your customers to provide testimonials will help you to recession-proof your business by differentiating your brand from the competition.

6. Hustle For Customer Retention

Research suggests that increasing customer retention rates by 5% can bring in 25% to 95% more in profits. With these statistics in mind, you can see that customer retention is the way to go if you want to execute recession-proof marketing.

To retain existing customers, you’ll have to rekindle your relationship with them by appreciating their support and promoting interaction during this time. Remind them that you offer assistance whenever they need it and give them exclusive access to promotions and discounts.

Moreover, a follow up with your customers after they make a purchase or invest in channels will also keep them engaged with your brand.

7. Don’t Trim Your Marketing Budget

Industry experts have found that cutting your marketing budget due to an economic downturn might help you generate short-term benefits. But you will face decreased profitability and disruption in growth once the recession ends.

Also, slashing your marketing budget means cutting off valuable connections with the audience that might help you to remain afloat in such difficult times. Therefore, only the brands that double down in their marketing expenditure to gain a competitive edge are best positioned to succeed during a recession.

Here are some digital marketing strategies that will guide you through a recession successfully. During a recession, it’s also wise to look at cost-effective alternatives such as virtual events.

Conclusion

The impact of a recession can be fatal for businesses that don’t invest in recession-proof marketing.

Start worrying about the impact of economic downturns now, while you still have the flexibility and the budget to do it right. It’s always good to have a reserve of leads, so revenues keep streaming in no matter how hard it gets for other businesses to survive.

Make sure that your brand is prepared for the inevitable economic crisis and make the right decisions when times are good so that you can capitalize on the downturn later on.