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All of the talk of a recession is forcing small business owners to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. To understand how small businesses are preparing, I contacted several marketing agencies that specialize in working with entrepreneurs to grow and scale. Preparing for a downhill period of time is like cross-country skiing. You have to be prepared to weather the storm. To help, I’ve combined their feedback with the marketing strategies we’re deploying in our company to be prepared for whatever the future may hold.
There will not be a one-size-fits-all approach. Your approach will depend on your current situation and the level of marketing you have deployed. In the larger end of the small business market, you will have a full marketing team and various agencies supporting your business. And at the smaller end of the spectrum, you may have a single marketing manager. Evaluate each of these strategies for how they will apply to your business and right-size them for your approach.
Related: 6 Proven Business Marketing Strategies to Grow During a Recession
Create trigger points for shifts in marketing spend
If there is a recession, we can expect revenues to decline. If that happens, what will happen to marketing spend? It’s best to plan these decisions ahead of time when you aren’t under the stress of the moment. Where will you decrease spend? Where will you increase spend? What metrics will you use to measure the success or failure of initiatives? What is your target cost per lead? What’s your target cost per new customer? These are all questions entrepreneurs are asking themselves and their marketing teams right now.
We’re working on establishing baselines. It’s like building a plane while we’re flying. We’re seeing some categories like advertising and email declining since the Apple iOs15 update, and it’s hard to know when we’ll reach the floor. Meanwhile, we’re seeing others like…
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