Marketing budgets are usually one of the first business areas cut during a recession and with the ever-looming headlines of this incoming, our digital team can see it happening more and more. But this doesn’t need to be the case, nor should it. Working carefully within budgets to achieve a cohesive marketing strategy can benefit your business rather than hinder it. After all, you want to be at the forefront of consumers’ minds and be a constant when things aren’t so.
We understand marketing in a recession can be tough, so our marketing strategy team here at Thunderbolt Digital has pulled together their top 8 ways for managing your marketing during a recession and want to share them with you in this blog. But before we dive into our tips, let’s look at marketing in a recession from a customer’s point of view.
As some businesses have found, customers are nervous and less likely to buy or invest easily during a recession. It’s important to shift your tone of voice to become reassuring and focus on the benefits your product or services give. In the current climate, customers need to see value in what you’re selling. Think about displaying a reassuring and compassionate tone of voice when it comes to marketing your service while showing leadership and stability.
Let’s look into how you should approach your marketing over the coming months, and what low-cost ideas our online marketing team suggests:
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Review Your Marketing Channels
Now is the perfect time to review how you market and where you’d like to invest your time and money into for the next few months. Look at what channels work well. Is PPC your highest converter? Are your social media channels driving sales? Is organic search what you should hone in on? Look into what areas are working well and what can be improved on. What channels would be the best use of your budget and where should it be allocated?
Plan Ahead
It may sound simple, and it’s likely your January and February marketing plans are already set in stone, but our team would recommend taking time to plan out the next few months rather than making rash decisions. Working out where to spend your budget in advance offers you more time to figure out where you really want to focus your marketing. Planning ahead is something our marketers (https://www.wearethunderbolt.com/social-media/) are big on (it means we can run ideas past our clients as well as stay ahead of the curve). Team meetings and shared marketing planners go a long way.
Switch to Smart Marketing:
Google Analytics is the Key to Reviewing
Reviewing your marketing should be as important as any other review within your business. Google Analytics holds a host of information about what channels clients come from (search engines, social media, emails, etc), who they are, and where they’re looking on your website. This means you can target the clients you want when it comes to setting out your marketing plans.
Put A Focus On SEO
SEO (https://www.wearethunderbolt.com/search-engine-optimisation/how-to-learn-search-engine-optimisation-seo/) is a fantastic low-cost online marketing tool that allows you to climb up the ranks of Google. Find the keywords you want to rank for and begin to put them into URLs, page titles, alt text, blogs, and even social media posts. Social media accounts and the content in them can help your business climb the ranks on Google. It’s worth noting ‘white hat’ techniques (essentially the heroes of SEO) do make a difference. Avoid spamming your website with your chosen keywords over and over, this may help you climb the ranks quickly but you can fall even quicker as it violates Google’s SEO guidelines, known as a black hat technique.
Reach Inboxes with Email Marketing
Emails is a great online marketing option for low-cost marketing that reaches interested clients. If clients have signed up for your emails, you can almost bet they are interested in your products and services, and any potential deals you have going on. Focus on repeat purchases; what products are your best sellers? What do clients come back to buy more of? Who else could benefit from this product? Our marketing strategy team recommends collecting names and emails either on your website or on a landing page so you can add them to your email list for quick, low-cost marketing.
Market to Repeat Customers
Did you know there is a 65% chance of converting repeat customers and a 13% chance of converting new customers? Not only this, but repeat customers spend 3x more than new ones. We’re not suggesting never marketing to new customers, but now is a great time to focus your time and money on reaching out to old customers and potentially offering a loyalty scheme as a thank-you (another way email marketing comes into play).
Consistency is King
No one trusts a company that goes quiet for 3 months and then comes back suddenly out of nowhere. Keep posting to a regular schedule each week so customers know when to look out for your content, and prioritise time to reply to comments and emails you might receive from it. When posting ensure you keep within your brand guidelines, engage with your audience, and keep on top of relevant business/industry news to maintain a strong brand image.
Thriving, Not Just Surviving
According to Bain and Capital Analysis (https://www.bain.com/insights/the-new-recession-playbook/), recessions create 47% more rising stars than ‘stable times’. This means although initially nerve-wracking, recessions are a possible opportunity to grow your share of the market. Brand awareness is hugely important at this time and, linking back to what we said earlier, creating a strong brand image is vital. Ensure your name is frequently seen and heard; whether it be on social media, search engines, or websites.
Contact Us – Online Marketing Strategy
Here at Thunderbolt Digital have worked with a range of companies curating individual marketing strategies to help boost their business. Whether you’re unsure of what tone of voice to use or where to focus your budget, our team is on hand to help. Call us at 01252 413 757 or email us at howdy@wearethunderbolt.com to speak to a member of our team.