Growth marketing during a recession

Recessions don’t last forever, but any kind of economic downturn can have long lasting effects on businesses of every size.

Some brands, however, fare far better than others, even coming out stronger than when the market starts to dip.

What’s their secret?

Growth marketing.

What is Growth Marketing?

Growth marketing is a modern marketing approach that emphasizes data-driven decision-making and experimentation to drive rapid–yet sustainable–brand growth. By leveraging a variety of marketing channels, including digital advertising, social media, email marketing, and content marketing, growth marketers acquire and retain customers in a scalable way.

What’s the Difference Between Growth Marketing and Traditional Marketing?

Unlike traditional marketing, growth marketing prioritizes measurable results and optimization through continuous testing and iteration. Through rigorous hypothesizing and experimenting, growth marketers can identify the most effective tactics and channels for attracting and retaining customers, while also maximizing ROI.

What is the Goal of Growth Marketing?

Ultimately, the goal of growth marketing is to create a repeatable and scalable system for driving growth and increasing revenue over time.

By continually refining marketing strategies and tactics, growth marketers can improve key metrics such as customer acquisition cost, conversion rate, and customer lifetime value, leading to sustained business growth and success.

This is what makes growth marketing a virtually bulletproof strategy in a recession.

Marketing During a Recession: What Brands Need to Know

Marketing during a recession can present opportunities for those who are able to adapt and respond effectively to shifts in consumer behavior.

Here are some key things that brands need to know when marketing during a recession:

Understand the Changing Landscape

During a recession, consumer behavior can change dramatically, with many people cutting back on discretionary spending and becoming more price-sensitive. Brands need to be aware of these changes and adjust their marketing strategies accordingly.

Focus on Value

With consumers becoming more price-sensitive during a recession, brands need to emphasize the value they provide. This can involve highlighting cost savings, promotions, and discounts, as well as emphasizing quality and durability.

Leverage the Right Types of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing can be a cost-effective way for brands to reach consumers during a recession. This can include tactics such as search engine optimization, social media marketing, and email marketing.

Prioritize Customer Retention

During a recession, it can be more difficult and expensive to acquire new customers. Brands should prioritize their existing customer base by providing excellent customer service, engaging customers through social media, and offering loyalty programs.

Experiment with New Tactics

A recession can be a good time for brands to experiment with new marketing efforts and strategies.This can include exploring new channels, such as influencer marketing, or trying out new messaging and creative approaches.

Brands that are able to adapt to the short-term changes in the landscape and focus on delivering value to consumers can thrive during a recession.

By prioritizing customer retention, leveraging digital marketing, and experimenting with new tactics, brands can position themselves for success both during and after a recession.

What Is A Good Strategy For Marketing During A Recession?

During a recession, businesses have tighter marketing budgets while simultaneously facing increased competition for customers. However, growth marketing can still be massively effective during an economic downturn if done with laser-precision.

To do so, smart businesses are leveraging influencer marketing.

Executing a Successful Influencer Marketing Campaign During a Dip in the Economy

Ideating an influencer campaign during a recession requires a different approach than a campaign during times when the market is flourishing.

Several factors need to be considered. Two of the most important include working with the right influencers and setting realistic expectations.

Determine Influencer Type

To implement an effective influencer marketing strategy during a recession, businesses should focus on identifying the perfect-fit influencers to work with.

Rather than just looking for influencers with the largest following, brands should look for those who have a highly engaged audience that aligns with their target audience.

Depending on your objectives, micro-influencers can be effective for growth marketing campaigns during a recession as they tend to have a highly engaged and loyal following, and are often more cost-effective to work with. Smaller influencers also tend to have a more niche following, which is great for brand building or launching new products.

Create Realistic Campaign Objectives

Recession marketing requires a great deal of finesse, and a lot of humility. Depending on the state of the economy, spending habits can change drastically. Setting lofty conversion goals may lead to misplaced disappointment.

Instead, brands should set their focus on the long game.

Influencers are key in brand development. Consider the brands that went full-speed ahead or launched during a past recession or even during the pandemic: these brands knew that pulling back on ad spend and marketing investments while others were hesitant would put them ahead of the game and earn them a greater market share.

Setting campaign objectives that center around brand awareness are key in recession marketing.

Gain a Competitive Advantage and Laser-Focus Your Marketing During a Recession

Companies that decrease their marketing expenditures, advertising spend, and lay off employees start at ground zero when the economy recovers. If your brand is tactical with your marketing campaigns during an economic downturn, your company will have grown into a legacy brand while your competitors are rebuilding.

Using influencer marketing initiatives during a recession means taking the gold while your competitors sit sideline. To start the conversation, contact a member of the HireInfluence team today.

Frequently Asked Questions About Growth Marketing During a Recession

We’ve answered some of the most common questions about recession marketing below:

What are some key tactics used in growth marketing during a recession?

Key tactics used in growth marketing during a recession include digital advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, email marketing, content marketing, and influencer marketing. Keeping these tactics as part of a marketing plan help retain current customers and earn the loyalty of new ones during a recession.

How can businesses identify the right influencers to work with during a recession?

When consumer spending is trending downward in real-time, there is no room for error. Brands that fare well with Influencer marketing during a recession do best to enlist a specialized influencer marketing agency.

How can businesses provide value to customers during a recession?

The value of value itself increases during a recession. Brands should focus on customer needs by highlighting cost savings, promotions, and discounts, as well as emphasizing quality.

Special attention should also be paid to loyal customers who dedicate part of their already-tight budget to their favorite brands. Businesses can prioritize customer retention by providing excellent customer service, engaging customers through social media, and offering loyalty programs.

How can businesses leverage digital marketing during a recession?

Businesses can leverage digital marketing by using tactics such as search engine optimization, social media marketing, and email marketing, which can be a cost-effective way to reach consumers during a recession.

Should brands test new marketing tactics during an economic downturn?

A recession can be a good time for businesses to experiment with new marketing tactics and strategies, such as exploring new channels or trying out new messaging and creative approaches. The brands who innovate during times of economic turbulence are the ones that succeed.

How can a brand measure the effectiveness of their growth marketing strategies during a recession?

Especially during a time where it’s critical to track every marketing spend, metrics matter. Businesses can measure the effectiveness of their growth marketing strategies by tracking key metrics such as customer acquisition cost, conversion rates vs. advertising budget, and lifetime value of their customers.

How can businesses adjust their growth marketing strategies as the recession evolves?

Businesses should be prepared to adjust their growth marketing strategies as the recession evolves. This can be done by having marketing teams continuously testing and iterating on their strategies to optimize for maximum impact.

What are some best practices for growth marketing during a recession?

Best practices for growth marketing during a recession can include focusing on value, conducting deep market research, prioritizing customer retention, leveraging digital marketing like influencer marketing, and by innovating and using laser-focused tactics like influencer marketing..

High-Converting Growth Marketing During a Recession: Start the Conversation

As we’ve seen in previous recessions, they don’t last forever.

If done strategically, growth marketing during a recession can position themselves for success both during and after economic low points. Keep your brand strong and set yourself up for long-term impact by utilizing influencer marketing.

Contact a member of our team today to find out how influencer marketing can exponentially enhance your growth marketing no matter the state of the economy.