By Tim Yeadon, Principal & Creative Director
(Posted June 11, 2020; updated January 23, 2023)
What’s a marketer to do during uncertain economic times?
In recent months, I’ve read dozens upon dozens of articles, listened to podcasts, and chatted with other agency owners and marketers.
Here are five fundamental insights I’ve taken to heart here at Clyde Golden:
Now is the time to invest in marketing.
“Share of Voice” matters.
Find the right balance of cost cutting and investment.
Keep your team in the loop.
Change is accelerating. Experiment early and often.
Insight No. 1:
Now is the time to invest in marketing
Probably the smartest thing content marketers did since the Great Recession of 2008 was to demonstrate the verity that companies should spend more, not less, money on marketing during economic downtowns.
The Harvard Business Review reports that studies have shown that “maintaining or even increasing ad spend during a downturn is invariably the right thing to do because it sets a company up to survive the downturn (a little) and prosper (a lot) in the period that follows.”
BTW, email drives an ROI of $36 for every dollar spent, higher than any other channel.
Required reading:
The Best Marketers Will Be Upping, Not Cutting, Their Budgets (Marketing Week, 2020)
How to Market in a Downturn (Harvard Business Review, 2009)
Best Email Marketing Campaigns for Customer Journey Engagement (Clyde Golden, 2022)
Insight No. 2:
“Share of Voice” matters
Marketers often find their voice can carry further when other, more tentative organizations withdraw and hide during recessions.
This is called “Share of Voice” - it’s the amount of marketing capital you spend versus your competitors.
Nielsen reports when a brand’s share of voice is greater than its share of market, it is likely to grow its market share in the coming year. Companies that increase their marketing investment when most others are cutting back have an opportunity to improve the standing of their brands.
It’s easier to do this when you’re larger and have more money to spend (versus smaller like Clyde Golden), but the idea remains the same.
Required reading:
Marketing at Low Tide (“SMPS Talks” - Alisson Tivnon, ECONorthwest, 2019)
Insight No. 3:
Find the right balance of cost cutting and investment
Experts say it’s more important what you do during a recession than what happens after.
I found this article by Derek Gleason at CXL to be particularly useful in my research. He reports that companies who struggled post-recession often switched to survival mode too early, making deep cuts and reacting defensively - meaning they had to spend more money than they saved to "recover from their prolonged absence in the media landscape,” wrote Gleason.
Companies need to find the right balance of prevention (cut your losses early) and promotion (optimism, adding quality when customers desire greater value).
To me, this means we need to be prepared to live on a series of smaller projects. And it means organizations need to work harder to keep their team together as long as possible, whenever possible, so when the economy recovers, we’ll be ready. Those who aren’t ready will need to scale back up.
Required reading:
Marketing and Growth Lessons for Uncertain Times (CXL, 2020)
Insight No. 4:
Keep your team in the loop
When the economy slows and stress builds, leaders need to avoid going silent and failing to communicate the reality of the situation.
Uncertainty is difficult and we want to appear confident, so your gut may tell you to keep your mouth shut and reduce the flow of information. But the opposite is correct. Be transparent. Talk to your team about the riddles facing your organization. Give them a chance to help solve the problem.
You’ll emerge a stronger, more capable team - and together you may expand the realm of what is possible.
Required reading:
Insight No. 5
Change is accelerating. Experiment early and often.
Sun Tzu, who penned The Art of War, recognized that chaos presents opportunity for innovation. The pandemic unleashed nothing but uncertainty.
Chaos is still here - and it will deliver future trends sooner than later.
If you were weighing whether or not a new tactic or strategy might be worth exploring someday in the future, do it now.
Entrepreneur and angel investor James Altucher has been suggesting the same.
"If something was going to happen in ten years, it will now happen in one or two years,” Altucher wrote in a recent newsletter. "If you thought automation was going to replace workers in ten years, it's going to happen much faster. If JC Penney was going to go bankrupt in ten years, it will happen tomorrow. If you were going to get divorced in five years, start calling lawyers tomorrow."
Required reading:
The New Abnormal (James Altucher Newsletter, 2020)
Our Economy Was Just Blasted Years Into the Future (Marker, 2020)
Robots Welcome to Take Over, as Pandemic Accelerates Automation (New York Time, 2020)
Moving Ahead:
Now is the time for leaders to react quickly.
How do you find the balance between prevention and promotion? What other products or services could your team’s skill set deliver? Is now the time to niche your business?
Stick around. We’ll let you know what we learn. We’re right here with you.
About Clyde Golden
Clyde Golden is an email marketing and SMS agency in Seattle. We’re here to help you create thoughtful and relevant content that leads your prospects through the buyer journey and on to a long-lasting relationship with your brand.