When demand falls and revenue declines, marketing is usually one of the first things many C-suite decision-makers will put on the chopping block. But slashing the marketing budget is not always the right thing to do. Cutting your marketing spend is short-sighted and risky to the long-term growth of your business.
Marketing through a downturn puts you in a better position to weather the economic storm. That being said, you will need to take steps to ensure that you continue to make a return on your marketing investment during a slowdown. This means smarter marketing decisions that make the most of new opportunities.
Instead of curtailing your marketing budget in panic mode, brands should focus on making the most of each dollar they plan to spend on advertising. Here are four crucial steps to stop wasting your marketing budget in a downturn.
Stick With Your Plan
The economy seems to revel in throwing monkey wrenches into even the best laid out business plans. Knowing how to make a plan and sticking to it no matter what is key. This applies to marketing as well. One of the most important things you can do when it comes to marketing in a downturn is to stick with your plan.
As a leader, reacting to a scary situation by doing the exact opposite of what you set out to do in the first place will make you look unconfident and chaotic. You may have to make a few adjustments here and there, but you really shouldn’t make wholesale changes to your plan.
Don’t Pull Back on Your Commitments
While it’s imperative that you stick with your plan when marketing during a downturn, you may still have to make a few changes as to how much money goes where. However, don’t pull back on your commitments, as you may damage business relationships and close the doors to future opportunities. When faced with limited resources, try to show leadership and creativity. In turbulent times, a creative leader will look at things in new ways and attempt to solve problems by implementing non-traditional techniques and ideas. Creative leadership drives productivity and fosters success in a company.Adjust Your Messaging as Necessary
Marketing during an economic decline requires a unique approach. For instance, you’ll have to adjust your messaging as necessary. For starters, you might want to consider re-engineering your value propositions to fit the needs of the moment. Shift your message to account for the experiences your target audience is facing right now, so your services remain a necessity. One more thing: you may have to pull back on those messages promising exponential growth and lean more towards how your offering will help customers improve efficiency.Tell A Clear ROAS Story
In a strong economy, you may be able to get by just delivering leads. During periods of economic downturn, nearly everything needs to have a clear return on investment. If you advertise during a downturn, you need to make the most of each dollar you plan to spend on marketing.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is the best metric for calculating how much revenue you gain from each dollar you spend on advertising. ROAS measures the success of specific marketing tactics. Not to be confused with ROI, which evaluates the effectiveness of the overall marketing strategy.
If you are considering rethinking your growth strategy thoroughly as we head into an economic downturn, outsource a marketing agency specialized in B2B SaaS. At T.A. Monroe Digital Agency, we have an experienced team of experts who can help with Scaling the Revenue Engine and Demand Generation for SaaS businesses.
Contact us to learn more about how we can help elevate the awareness and demand for your products and services.
