Back to basics: how can marketers keep generating results in a recession?

"To achieve ambitious targets during continued economic uncertainty, marketing strategies must evolve and adapt. This begs the question: how do we need to adjust our plans to better serve our consumer's needs? Let's first hone in on the biggest challenges we're currently facing as an industry. Understanding your customer and their needs Consumer shopping behavior is vastly different now than in 2019 and, while looking back on past data is still essential, we can't use it as robustly to predict trends."

"With many businesses feeling the crunch, marketing budgets are being spent more strategically. Knowing your audience and where they're genuinely spending their time is paramount. Establishing the right channels for your market is only half the battle. Time and time again, I find myself auditing paid media accounts that are limiting things to such an extent that budgets aren't being spent in a way that maximizes output."

"The goalposts for benchmarking success are no longer a simple 'year-on-year' growth metric, and short-term, quick-win views will usually only direct you to spend less and save pennies, potentially hindering next year's growth further. Here are some key considerations to help your business adapt. If there's a time for resetting and re-strategizing, it's now, and everything needs a goal. For most, the goal is growth."

Paid media performance requires adapting to the current economic downturn by centring strategies on updated consumer needs and behaviours rather than relying solely on historical data. Marketers must identify the channels where target audiences now spend time and allocate budgets strategically to those channels. Auditing account configurations can reveal overly restrictive settings that block efficient spend and reduce output. Benchmarking should move beyond simple year-on-year comparisons and short-term quick wins, prioritizing sustainable growth and long-term value. Objectives must be clearly defined and growth-focused so strategies and budgets align with measurable business outcomes during uncertainty.

Read at The Drum