Agile Marketing: Waste not. How to get the most from your marketing spend as the recession bites

Marketing is usually seen as a tap that can be turned off in a recession. When economies slip and slide, budgets become easy targets. Cutting back on marketing spend is a natural instinct for brands looking to shore-up defences and ride out the storm. We took a leaf out of the history books in a recent post to see who came out of previous recessions ‘up’. And more importantly, to see if there was a common thread they all shared.

In this article we'll walk you through some proven tactics to get the most out of your spend as the recession bites. Keep the tap on. You still need to be there for your customers and deliver purposeful campaigns that emphasise value. You still need to build your brand. The two things that will make sure your business emerges stronger when this downturn ends. Which it will.  

Whatever your situation, every penny you spend in the coming year will be heavily scrutinised. You can't control the swings ahead, but you can recalibrate your strategy to get the most from your budget. If your business is hovering over the tap, stick with us. If this doesn't sound like you (yet), stick with us.  

Hold Your Nerve ...

The economic forecasts are going from bad to worse.. Add in the seismic impact of human and viral-induced chaos over the past few years and “we're not living in normal times” has already become a worn out cliché.  

Once again you'll need to brace yourself for the year ahead. But don't panic. Evidence and experience tells us that brands that hold their nerve and maintain or increase their spend in downturns are better insulated from the fallout. They also see a better ROI. Let's run a couple of the numbers:

• 60% of brands that increased their media spend during the last recession saw ROI improvements. Brands that increased paid advertising also saw a 17% rise in incremental sales. Marketers who cut ad spending risked losing 15% of their revenue (Analytics Partners)

• Companies who continued to advertise during the two-year recession in the early 1980s saw 256% higher sales than their counterparts afterwards (McGraw Hill)

And, budgets for next year are holding up… right now

• Just over three-quarters of CMOs say that spend will increase in 2023.(ConsultMyApp)

Peel back the layers on where we're at and as always things are more complicated. The impact of any recession is uneven on household and brand budgets. There will be more twists and turns. But all marketers have two things in common: the pressure to justify what you spend is intense. Your customers will expect you to offer value as they work out what to spend their money on.    

Your Existing Customers Are Your Biggest Asset

Customer experience (and loyalty) is your most enduring source of growth. In a downturn, multiply the impact of a positive or poor experience on customer behaviour by a factor of 10, 100, 1,000 (depending on how good or bad you make it).  As with Covid, customers will want to stick with brands that have worked hard to earn their trust. They'll become more emotionally invested in the businesses that show them that they care. They'll notice the brands that are open, empathetic and continuing to share purposeful. content. They will forget brands that go off the radar. They won't hesitate to jump ship for a better offer. Working out how to boost loyalty is crucial. When you think that loyal customers spend on average 67% more with a business than new ones, according to Thanx, that's a huge slice of pie to miss out on. But, some brands have got into bad habits that are difficult to shake. In the acquisition gold rush, they have often neglected the needs of their existing customers. They have lost sight of what they value. 

If you haven't recently done so, now is a good time to get to know your customers again. What do they value?  How is their behaviour changing? Is there an opportunity to tap into an unmet need or establish first mover advantage? 

Remember… People also care about the impact a brand is making on the world. Sharing purpose, values and beliefs are an effective way to build a hard-to-break bond. What does your brand stand for?  How will you encourage your customers to join the mission?

Patagonia : Known for only investing in marketing spend which encourages customers to only buy what they need and to take environmental actions seriously.

Waste Not … Barbour Christmas x Paddington Bear

Steeped in heritage and family tradition, Barbour creates lifestyle clothing that is built to last. The brand's 'Re-loved' programme is very much part of its heritage story. Barbour's beloved jackets are carefully repaired, given a new lease of life and re-homed ready for new adventures. Few bears are built for adventure more than Paddington. 

Our team has worked with Barbour over the past six years to create the concepts and film narratives behind their festive films, and deliver the campaign. This year is no different. “One-of-a kindness” brings to life Paddington’s re-loved story as he searches for the perfect gift for Mr Curry. 

Barbour is empowering its customers to stand up for sustainability.  And as part of this year's campaign, they are able to buy a Re-Loved jacket with a unique lining taken from an image in the ad. Learn more here.  

Okay … we're all feeling a bit more festive now, but let's continue. 

Your Competitors Are On Standby

They'll be doing their homework to understand what makes their customers tick. The brands that cut through in the coming year will be responsive to fast-changing needs. They'll be quick to reinvent the way they get things done to boost the effectiveness of their marketing spend. The way to do this?  Think agile.

Be Agile and Experimental 

Long lead times and lengthy campaigns can mean a whole heap of uncertainty and significant upfront commitment to spend and creative. Agile marketing will help you deliver quick wins and  customer value early and often. Risk is reduced. You'll be able to turn an idea into an offer in weeks. These ideas are tested on customers and learnings are applied throughout the project. The focus is on collaboration, experimentation, iterative and incremental improvements. 

Experimentation is one of the most overlooked items in budgets. In agile, you can try something you think might work, get feedback, and adjust accordingly. If you don't continue to innovate next year, what will get your team and customers excited? How will you cut through? 

Finding The Right Talent – OnDemand

A skills gap is the biggest reason why businesses struggle to pivot to an agile way of working. You'll know from experience just how tough it can be to recruit the talent you need at a time when your hiring costs are also under scrutiny.  Turning to the expertise of outside help to handpick an agile team to work with you on demand can help you unlock the value of your projects. Marketing teams are increasingly turning to their agency's in-housing services to plug any skills gaps and reign in recruitment spend.

The Proof...

You're swimming in data.  But if you're still struggling to get the insights you need to make decisions, working with an agile team will help you with evidence to overcome any proof gap.   

Keeping a closer eye on your data also helps you unearth unmet customer needs and opportunities that are opening up by movement in your market.   

Finally … Measure Twice, Cut Once 

Now is the time to tighten the way you measure campaigns to avoid wasting resource, time and money.  Agile is designed to measure outcomes, not outputs. It means an end to messy, siloed data and tribal instincts. Data is integrated and daily, weekly or monthly reports make it easy to reflect and refine to improve outcomes. Everything can be measured. But this just gets complicated. Focus on the priority metrics that help you draw a straight line between your investment and achieving your goal. 

That's plenty to think about. You know there are big challenges ahead. Try to be agile and focus on quick wins not all ‘big-bang’ projects. Use evidence to make sure you are delivering and communicating value to your customers – the people who will see you through this downturn. You'll find it tough going if you have to win them back when all of this ends. And measure twice, cut once to avoid being wasteful and prove the value of your campaigns. Keep the tap on.