Amplify Your Digital Marketing During Economic Downturn8 min read

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven itself a tough time for small businesses here in Australia and around the globe. However, even with the Australia economy in recession, your digital marketing efforts are the difference between your business’ survival and its end.

Of course, it’s more than reasonable to worry about an economic downturn, but what most business owners don’t realise is that a fluctuating market can become their greatest asset. The key is understanding how consumerism shifts during an economic recession, and how to capitalise on that shift. That means coming up with a new digital marketing strategy fit for the times.

Now is a better time than ever to maintain your digital marketing efforts. Keep reading to learn more about the importance of digital marketing during a recession and how to strategise accordingly.

Digital Marketing During an Economic Recession

Australia is in recession. The market is shrinking, and your leads are drying up. You’re probably thinking it’s time to cut costs, and you’re not wrong—but you also don’t want to make any rash decisions just yet. 

The first thing business owners tend to cut from their budget is their digital marketing services. It may seem like your only option, as opposed to laying off good workers that have mouths to feed—but trust us, this is the time to beef up your marketing efforts.

There are two very specific reasons that you shouldn’t forgo your marketing efforts:

1. You can’t afford to not communicate with what leads you have left
2. Your competitors are most likely putting their marketing efforts on hold

This is the time to maintain your digital marketing efforts, and if possible, increase them. Let’s expand on the importance of digital marketing during an economic recession:

A Smaller Market Equals a Louder Voice

As we mentioned, you can’t afford to cut off communication with your current leads, or your potential future leads for that matter. With your competitors cutting costs by terminating their digital marketing services and putting their plans on hold, you become more visible in a shrinking market.

With fewer competitors in the pool, you can easily position yourself as the big fish and increase your market share. This is what we like to call becoming recession-proof.

Less Competition Equals More Affordable Leads

Less competition also brings down the price of digital advertising as competitors reduce their spend, reducing your costs per lead acquisition costs. This makes an economic recession an even more attractive time to invest in your digital marketing plan and gain market share.

Even if your ad spend remains the same, your cost per lead should decrease. Of course, if you can afford to invest a little more in your marketing efforts, you should. Remember, you don’t just want to convert your existing leads into sales during this time. You want to also try and generate as many new leads as possible. 

Less Competition Means Fewer Product Launches

Marketing campaigns and the products or services they launch are the two key factors in driving market shares. If your competitors are trying to cut costs, they’re probably not funding new product launches. This is due to the lack of funding which means there will be a lack of market research and development efforts.

Additionally, most consumers aren’t willing to spend money on new products during a recession, especially if there’s a lack of information behind it.

With your competitors holding back, it’s the best time to dive in a take over market shares by taking advantage of the advertising space and your new—or same—products or services.

Your Economic Downturn Strategy

Moving forward with your digital marketing plan during an economic downturn is still a risk, but it’s a risk worth taking. If you cut your marketing costs, you’re also cutting your brand awareness, search engine rankings, and brand loyalty. These things are rather expensive to get back, which makes cutting your marketing efforts an irresponsible and costly business move.

Keep in mind that while a recession can make the days feel like years, it’s a temporary situation. If you invest in your business via digital marketing, you’ll see a much better recovery period than your competitors. However, you must tailor your marketing strategies during a recession to your consumers’ shifting needs.

Here’s what you need to focus your marketing efforts on if you want to make it through Australia’s recession period:

Make Your Presence More Present

Right now, your competitors are most likely cutting costs and fading into the shadows of this economic downturn. As their visibility fades and consumers begin to spend less, you need to become more visible to change their minds.

Now is not the time to be forgotten—it’s the time to enhance your brand presence. The first thing your digital marketing strategy should include is brand exposure efforts. That means investing in more ad space, creating more social media and blog content, and pumping up your SEO. You want to become as visible as possible to reach a wider audience and attract more leads.

Stay Ahead of Your Competitors

Maintaining a business means staying afloat financially and constantly competing with your rivals by increasing your sales and customer base. The more customers and sales you have, the greater your market shares will be, which equates to a steady stream of revenue. More importantly—don’t assume that you’re the only one who has uncovered the secret of taking advantage of marketing during an economic recession. 

Recession or no recession, there’s no room for complacency in running a successful business. Whether your competitors are trying to save face or trudging forward with their marketing efforts, you still need to outperform them on every level possible. Now is the time to get creative and innovative in terms of getting your products or services out there.

That means leveraging any and all digital marketing platforms and creating messages that leave an impact long after the recession ends. Not only will your advertisements get noticed more easily during this time, but they’ll linger with your audience long after your competitors rejoin the market. 

Switch to More Cost-Effective Marketing Solutions

A solid digital marketing strategy is built on a mix of time, expertise and money. If you’re trying to save money, if you have the skills in-house, there are elements you can do yourselves that will reduce your external costs. Digital marketing doesn’t have to bleed you dry, especially if you can’t catch a break with your current digital marketing service provider. Look for more cost-effective solutions, think outside the box and have a solid plan in place that you regularly update.

One way to cut costs in the realm of digital marketing while still maintaining a strong campaign is to enter into a business partnership with influencers who can increase brand awareness and generate sales. It’ll still cost you something, but that cost will only be a fraction of what you’d pay for a full team of digital marketers.

Remember, social media platforms are free to use. As long as you do your due diligence, you can learn how to successfully implement digital marketing strategies on your own if you can’t afford professional services. The same goes for your SEO efforts, although it may take a bit more time to master than your social media channels. 

Measure Your Progress

Don’t forget to keep track of your spending and ROI. A recession is no time to slack off—you want to make sure that you’re ROI is substantial and that your marketing efforts are in fact working. 

By choosing the right KPIs and metrics to measure your progress, you can significantly strengthen your business’ capacity to survive a recession. Having an understanding of your digital marketing metrics will give you the necessary insight into the lifetime value of a customer (LCV), followed by a prediction of their value during a recession.

Additionally, these metrics can be leveraged into a solid relationship with your customer base by showing you exactly what keeps each customer loyal. Customer loyalty can stem from irresistible incentives to relatable and informative content that positions you as a trustworthy source. These are the things you’ll want to stay on top of, especially during an economic downturn. 

Your KPIs and metrics are the very things that let you know what’s working and what isn’t working, and right now isn’t the time to waste any money on the things that aren’t working.  

Have No Fear of the Economic Recession

If we said it once we’ll say it again: the Australia economic recession is only temporary. Every business has the potential to not only survive but thrive during times of an economic downturn. All you have to do is focus your time and effort into a newer and innovative digital marketing strategy to continue to attract and convert leads.

Let’s talk about the health of your marketing strategy. Reach out to us today for a no-obligation assessment of your business’ digital presence. We have the tools and expertise to help you survive and thrive during this economic recession. You can also check out our Digital Health Check to provide insight as to how your digital business is performing holistically, or read more digital insights for other useful digital marketing advice and tips.