TMI#41: 3 Reasons an economic downturn is the best time to engage marketing

There's lots of talk about a potential economic downturn.

Whether you believe one is eminent or not, it's is on every marketer’s mind because marketing budgets are always the first to go when the going gets tough.

And yet they shouldn't be because there’s real and anecdotal evidence to prove that an economic downturn is exactly the time to invest in marketing:

- Companies during previous recessions that maintained marketing spend or increased it fared better

- Brands that spend more on R&D and roll out new products during a recession have higher long-term survival rates

When it comes to marketing in 2022, there’s one reality that holds true regardless of the economic temperature: We live in a virtual world. And in a virtual world, content is king.

In fact, 55% of B2B buyers rely more on content to research and make purchasing decisions in 2022 than they did just last year. This is only going to increase.

The data is worth seeing for yourself:

More than 60% of buyers engage in 3-7 pieces of content before connecting with a salesperson.

Businesses that remain top of mind throughout a recession will keep the new customers they acquire— and cement these already loyal to them.

Here’s why:

1.     When times are tough, help people. There’s no one better than the guy who helps the underdog, or in this case, the struggling business during a recession. When done well, content is about sharing your business’ expertise including FREE advice, best practices, tips, and lessons learned. Those who provide value will be remembered in good times and in bad times.

2.     Emerge with a strong pipeline. Businesses that increase or maintain their marketing budget during an economic downturn surpass their competitors in market share. A healthy marketing budget produces current content, with up-to-date stats, including new and updated backlinks and higher search result rankings. When the economic downturn soon ceases, businesses that never stopped marketing themselves will emerge with a stronger reputation, brand awareness, and ultimately, a pipeline of prospects.

3.     Content has a long tail. As opposed to a one-time ad in a monthly magazine, content lasts. And good content gets consumed over and over. Your investment in the content budget isn’t just for right now, it’s forever.

While this may not be a time to reduce your marketing spend, it can be an opportunity to change how you spend it.

The question is: How can you create content on a tighter budget or even with the same or larger budget, if you’ve got conflicting priorities and/or less internal resources?

I’ve got two ideas for you:

Deeply focus on your target customers. High-quality, customer-targeted content allows brands to build relationships directly with their audience — over and over. This builds brand equity and supports customer purchasing decisions.

Do double-duty. Create content that doubles for both existing and new customers. Very often they are looking for the same advice. Streamlining the content creation process can help preserve resources and beef up each piece. Differentiate by an audience in each CTA, consider demand gen language for new prospects and a link to additional assets for existing customers.

Timing is everything!