Opinion holder entrepreneur You are the contributor.
While everyone still remembers the economic slowdown in 2022, the prospect of an even deeper recession in 2023 is a daunting thought for all businesses. Bloomberg analysts suggest he is 100% likely to have a recession next year, and businesses that are unprepared could be at risk.
But with the right marketing strategy, businesses can not only prepare for the worst, they can also win. Marketing budgets account for up to 40% of spending from a company’s revenue, so it’s essential to think strategically about how you allocate your marketing budget. Here are his five tips for your company’s survival during the 2023 recession.
Related: 6 Recession-Resistant Business Marketing Strategies
1. Focus on long-term ROI
During a recession, it can be tempting to cut expenses that don’t show an immediate ROI. For example, content marketing shows results because it can take weeks or months for your content to rank, your website to become more authoritative, and people to start trusting your brand as a thought leader. It will take some time.
However, once your content grabs attention, the rewards can be long-lasting. Put your marketing budget into creating quality content that will still be relevant a year from now. This is the best way to ensure a steady stream of leads long after the recession is over.
Interactive content is one of the most effective strategies in this regard, as it is easy to share and often generates long-term engagement. My company, include.me, makes it easy to create interactive content with no technical skills required.
Advertising spending, by comparison, can bring immediate results, but may not last as long. You will lose leads and sales. If you have little organic traffic to make up for lost ads, you could end up worse off than you were when you started.
2. Leverage low-cost channels
It’s worth experimenting with different marketing channels, but the costs can vary greatly. For example, in the last Super Bowl, a 30-second commercial cost about $6.5 million and reached an average of 106 million viewers.
That’s about $61 in CPM (cost per mile, or cost per 1,000 views). While this may be a good investment for some companies, it is not realistic for most. In contrast, his CPMs for TikTok ads range from $0.50 to $10, allowing him to reach a large audience without any ads at all.
From dance challenges to creative product demonstrations, organic TikTok videos can go viral and create a huge amount of impressions. This is a great option for businesses that don’t have the budget for expensive advertising but want to reach a large audience.
3. Go Local
In a recession, it’s important to look locally. Local businesses are more insulated from stock market volatility and international trade wars and generally have more loyal customers.
Make sure your website and other marketing channels are optimized for local search, and consider running hyper-local campaigns for your products and services. Also, look for opportunities to partner with other businesses in your area. This will help you get your message across to a wider audience and build trust with potential customers.
You can also use your marketing budget for physical campaigns, such as sponsoring local events or placing cost-effective ads in local newspapers. This will help you reach potential customers in your area and build a loyal customer base that will continue to serve you even after the economy recovers.
Additionally, local search engine optimization (SEO) is becoming more and more important. Investing in local SEO means reaching potential customers who are actively searching for your services in your area.
RELATED: Why You Shouldn’t Skimp on Brand Marketing in a Recession
4. Focus on reducing churn
Even in the best of times, customer churn can be a big problem. Like pouring water into a leaky bucket, it’s hard to retain customers when you’re constantly losing them.
Focusing on reducing customer churn is especially important during a recession when businesses are struggling to win customers and revenue. Invest in customer retention strategies such as loyalty programs, customer feedback systems, and personalized offers. This increases your chances of retaining existing customers, building relationships with them, and retaining them in the future.
In practice, these systems need not be complicated. For example, you can track customers who haven’t used your product or service for a period of time and send them personalized offers and reminders via email. The e-mail can also include a feedback survey. This will help you understand why they are not coming back and what you can do to get them back.
5. Double down on automation
Finally, consider investing in automation and process optimization. During a recession, it may be tempting to cut costs and headcount, but automation can actually help your business be more efficient and profitable.
Invest in automation software for your marketing, sales, and customer service teams. This saves you time and money by automating repetitive tasks like emailing his campaigns and qualifying leads. This frees up your team to focus on more important tasks and helps you get better results from your marketing and sales efforts.
Common tools like Zapier and IFTTT can be used to automate tasks and workflows, and they are very inexpensive.
RELATED: 3 Strategies for Reaching Customers During a Recession
A recession in 2023 is almost inevitable, and many businesses will struggle to survive. However, with the right marketing strategy, you can not only survive a recession, but come out on top. By focusing on long-term ROI, leveraging low-cost channels, going local, reducing churn, and investing in automation, businesses are well-positioned for success in the years to come. can.
