Marketing in a downturn: This is how to do it

They say a downturn is upon us. Thankfully the past and the present give us clear guidance on how to win in marketing even in a downturn.

Once again, a new year will bring new challenges for brands and marketers behind them.

But fear not, as your ultimate vacuum cleaner guy, Sir James Dyson, famously said, “So I think the winners in a recession are the people who produce new technology that does things better, which people really want.”

Surprisingly, I have come to think there’s more blue ocean to this conclusion than expected.

I just read Harvard Business Reviews’ two different era marketing in downturn articles, one from 2009 and a recent one from this year of 2022 . If you have a moment, they are worth a read.

But if you don’t, in essence, not much has changed from this self-declared “the best ideas for general management” media in 13 years regarding tips and guidance for marketing in a downturn.

Here’s what has not changed, meaning also what you, the marketer, should keep doing to win the downturn.

1. Build trust across stakeholders - from customers to CEO and CFO, by highlighting the value your products, services, and work as a marketer deliver.
2. Go agile. Cut costs, accelerate productivity, and get more done with a smaller team. This one’s a classic, right?
3. Focus. Choose your niche, market, target group, position, and partners, and narrow down on overdelivering with them instead of planning on new pilots or even business crusades.
4. Keep the pedal in the metal. Perhaps, the most emphasized advice from the two articles from two different decades is not to slow down. Your competitors are expected to slow down, so by following the first three tips and by not slowing down, but on the contrary, pushing harder, you can actually not only avoid losing but even win in both the short and long term.

The word innovation was mentioned multiple times in both 2009 and 2022 articles, but also as side notes.

Creativity is not almost mentioned at all.

And here’s the blue ocean I talked about.

I don’t disagree with any of the points listed previously, but on the contrary, I stand behind them. I recommend that you find ways to bring your C-level team together to create trust together within your customers. You should minimize costs and maximize marketing activity productivity. You should choose your battles carefully, and you should dedicate executing the plan no matter what the downturn will throw on your face.

But this matters only if you do it as everyone else does. As HBR describes themselves, “for general management,” I assume that the masses, including your competition, will do their best to follow these general tips. So what’s the expected result? Do you keep on fighting for the same crumbs with more force?

But what if you went innovative and creative about it? Just like Sir James Dyson thought might be smart.

What internal and external stakeholders can you employ to creatively innovate how your brand can renew and deliver something better, something different, something for the downturn, something for the new pain that touches not only you but also your clients, existing and ideal, and their clients too.

So follow the general guidelines for winning in marketing in the downturn.

But dare to go creative. Dare to think differently. Dare to disrupt.

If you want to talk about how, then send me a message here, email me at [email protected] or give me a call +358404564880.

My name is Joonas Kylli?inen. I’m a father, an aspiring athlete, the CEO and Co-Founder of Norders Creative Agency, and the creator of the Creative OS.

Now let’s do some meaningful marketing together.