How to Improve B2B Marketing During a Recession

A recession is a time when B2B Marketing needs to redesign and reconstruct marketing strategies to avoid the malefic impact that comes along with it. Since economic crises are cyclical, companies need to highlight their marketing tactics in the long term because no one knows how long this one will last.  

In the business cycle of capitalist economies financial and economic analysts play a vital role, so when there is an economic decline due to the recession, companies have the urge to reposition their priorities so they can be on board with demanding times like these we all encounter today. 

Customers tend to limit their spending and buy only necessary things, this puts marketers in a tight corner wondering which part of their strategy needs to be changed, what to cut, eliminate or keep. 

Sadly, when this happens marketing suffers the most consequences due to these reasons: 

• Marketers don’t connect marketing investments with revenues, so this makes it more challenging for further investment
• By using the term “marketing spend” marketers leave the impression that marketing is a cost center 
• Brand recognition, marketing share, and community building are very powerful aspects that many businesses don’t understand 
• At this moment marketing is seen from the perspective of a cost center, rather than as a driver of revenue

Instead of cutting marketing investments, businesses should double their funds when it comes to investing in the digital world. This can only lead to a bigger engagement and constant online presence, meaning your customers or potential clients will be fully aware that you’re still here and that you’re a reliable brand. 

 

Implementing Demand Generation and ABM 

When it comes to a recession demand generation should be handled differently so that it can be fruitful. To have a successful catch in the lead search it is recommendable that you implement ABM (account-based marketing). 

ABM is a process that undergoes building relationships with the customers, rather than just using cold emails and messaging, which appear very plain, especially in times of crisis. Supporting value-based marketing and still not opposing the demand for lead generation can be beneficial for both sides. 

The secret lies in balancing demand generation and ABM, building upon internal resources, overall sales, marketing goals, and revenue attribution.  

 

Keep the Bond between Marketing and Sales

When a downturn happens, businesses are building up walls between marketing and sales which even in a normal state are a fragile relationship. If they are aligned the results can be extremely satisfying so that’s why their connection shouldn’t be torn.

Some studies have shown very good statistics which come from combining sales and marketing.

• The deal closure has increased by 38%
• Customer retention leveled up to 36%
• Revenue increased by 208%

A good way to improve customer relationship management is to use the Know Your Buyer metrics across both sectors. This is how your business will form properly developed approaches to enhance marketing opportunities. 

 

Shift Your Focus on Value-Based Marketing

Challenging times will always shrink the customer’s level of trust and confidence, alongside making them reevaluate and rethink where their money goes, and what is the quality and quantity of the goods they get in return. 

This can hurt marketing efficacy mostly when the way of representing your product and service is feature based. Only stating the features of your products won’t bring you any success these days, that’s why you should shift your focus to value-based marketing which involves nurturing and building relationships with your customers. 

 

Grow Your Brand Awareness

Every story has two sides, so the good part of this recession is that some businesses grew even more than before, when things were normal.  According to the Bain and Capital analysis, there was a rise of 47% rising stars which is an indicator of an excellent shot for marketers to become even more visible on the market. 

If you want your business to be visible and constantly present, you must be dedicated to marketing your goods and services non-stop. This can bring later on greater success to your company, but if you choose to cut your funds and turn your back on marketing, be prepared that your brand will fade alongside your customers. 

 

Keep Track of Your Marketing Dynamics 

To keep the natural flowing of your data from the different tools and marketing properties you shouldn’t be slowing down your marketing efforts, the maintained or increased investments retain the data flow.

No matter what’s happening on a marketing level, owning the right information like competitor analysis and customer behavior will maintain the degree of competitiveness. With regular marketing investment, this data is generated through surveys, CRM tracking, app analytics, and website analytics. This is vital for providing market-significant insights and notifying revenue-generation plans.

 

What to Do During a Recession 

• Implement third-party marketing help for brainstorming better strategies and innovative approaches while also optimizing your campaigns
• Be prepared for positive and negative outcomes, while you experiment and test new strategies 
• Learn how to repurpose your budget and shift it to specific targeted methods
• Exclude all of the tools and software that reduce your marketing productivity
• Carefully observe your competitive landscape to learn what tactics they apply to deal with the recession

 

What Not to Do During a Recession 

• Don’t rush the process of implementing new strategies one by one too quickly and skip the necessary period for their proper development. To get the generated data needed, and the crucial insights you need to be patient.
• Don’t exclude the implementation of social media like LinkedIn which is vital for demand generation
• Don’t fund tools that you’re not sure how will benefit your business outcomes
• Don’t forget to optimize your website and keep it regularly updated
• Don’t choose random marketing playbooks that are not specifically intended for growing your business
• Don’t put your capital into more ad advertising without getting positive ad statistics from your previous ad efforts 

 

Learn How to Ride the Waves of the Recession 

Learning how to ride the waves of the recession requires being able to adjust your marketing plans, redesign your marketing strategies, and be prepared for good and bad statistics simultaneously. Next adjust your plans, objectives, and ad budgets so that you can satisfy your customers’ needs and house the emerging market transfer.

Since nobody knows how long this recession will last, companies should adapt to the situation with the most creative and cost-effective solutions to overcome the challenging period and level up their business level.