Marketing Fundamentals in Times of Uncertainty 

In times of uncertainty, crisis, or economic downturn, it can be hard to determine how best to utilize your resources to market effectively to clients and customers. Between personnel, changing strategies, and shifting customer expectations, there can be a lot of moving parts. That’s why it’s often helpful to reassess goals and techniques when the market environment changes dramatically.  

Read on for a few ideas on how to get the team on the same page during a downturn and continue to provide the best service possible for clients and customers.  

Set SMART Campaign Goals 

It’s helpful in uncertain times to reassess some assumptions under which your marketing team operates. To ensure that your marketing dollars are being spent wisely, take some time with the team and ensure that your goals are S.M.A.R.T. S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.  

For example, if your goal was previously to gain a thousand unique sign-ups for your client’s email list, attach a deadline and make sure it’s feasible. Specify what type of customers you’d like to attract and make sure with the client that this is achieving their ultimate goals. It may sound obvious, but it’s an easy, low-cost way to make sure everyone is on the same page. 

Reconsider Segmentation  

In a similar vein to revisiting campaign goals, take a look at your customer segmentation. Times of uncertainty cause certain demographics to act much differently than when times are good, and it’s important to look at the data and determine what those ways are.  

You may find that you need to create finer distribution to better serve customers or redraw the lines between tribes. Short surveys to customers are a quick and easy way to determine how they’re feeling in the moment or how their needs have changed, and good results empower the team to move forward confidently. 

Revisit Personas 

Now is also a great time to revisit customer personas and journeys. Customer personas are synthesized examples of who your customer is and how they behave. 

Hubspot has a good persona creation tool available for free, but at its core it’s about asking the right questions of your customers and putting yourself in their shoes. What are their fears, their desires, their- day-to-day habits and their means? This can be as in-depth as desired, but even just revisiting the idea and asking questions about how their behavior is changing is a great way to get everyone thinking about how best to serve the customer.  

It’s important to use data to build these models, because gut instinct is rarely comprehensive or even accurate when it comes to anticipating what the customer needs. 

Focus on Inbound Marketing 

In a world where 90% of the advertising dollars go to trying to interrupt customer behavior and find them where they are, creating a community that attracts customers naturally can be very powerful.  

Neil Patel of MarketingLand magazine writes, “Traditional marketing relied on email lists, cold-calling, billboard advertisements, and direct mail. Modern inbound marketing uses organic search traffic, opt-in email forms, and content publication to attract customers. 

Inbound marketing has arguably a higher ROI, and is more evergreen in terms of creating brand awareness and increasing brand trust. Though it is a long-term endeavor to build trust in the brand, getting on the same page with the team about inbound marketing goals is helps all move forward in the same direction. 

Contact 10 People from Past 

Another easy way to score some forward-motion is reaching out to previous clients that may have fallen off for some reason. When the economic climate changes or uncertainty looms, not everyone chooses to hunker down and cut costs. In fact, spending on marketing is one of the biggest indicators of whether a company will come out the other side in a better position. 

Make a goal of contacting 10 clients or former coworkers to see what their needs are now. Even if you do not secure them as a return client, it can be valuable just to touch base and reestablish a relationship.  

Embrace Altruism 

When times are difficult and people are struggling, it’s important to remember that we’re members of the community first and marketers second, and that those roles complement each other.  

Help your clients figure out ways to engage with the community in meaningful ways. This could include organizing volunteer days, supporting local charities or sports teams, or doing field research about the community’s needs. By reaching out to customers and genuinely listening to their needs, a team can understand them from a ground-level perspective. This info can round out personas and bring vendor and customer closer together. 

Henry Ford once said, “A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.” As a marketing team picks up steam during a downturn with small wins, it’s also important to document these wins and express to stakeholders how important it is to get your message out there. In fact, advertising dollars go further in a downturn because, as competitors contract and cut back on ad buying, there is more room for your message to get through.  

With these techniques, you can lean into uncertainty with the confidence that your team is ready to make the best of a difficult situation and plant seeds for future growth. That way, when the economy picks back up, clients will remember who was there for them through leaner times.