As economic uncertainty continues to grip the nation, consumers are tightening their belts and withholding discretionary spending as they brace for a rising cost-of-living. Massive disruptions in consumer sentiment and supply-chain costs continue to send brands reeling. There are two main tactics emerging:
Tactic #1: Wait-and-See
Many brands, particularly those with any portion of their supply chain coming from China, are withholding their advertising dollars, as they wait to see what will happen with a retaliatory tariff war where both sides have heavily dug in. If your company finds itself in this position, your playbook should consist of maximizing the value of your existing pipeline and win-backs:
- How can you make your product more affordable to those sitting on the fence? Financing options? Trade-in incentives?
- How are you re-engaging dead leads? Try maximizing call center efficiency with AI solutions allowing dead lead recontacts at scale with cutting-edge companies like 2xSolutions.ai.
Tactic #2: Grab Market Share
Down markets are when aggressive brands grab market share. As their competitors shift their marketing focus to bottom-of-the-funnel efforts like Paid Search and Site Retargeting, future category leaders choose a different path. When discretionary spending tightens, category demand reduces, making Paid Search a race to the bottom, and Site Retargeting an effort of diminishing returns as site traffic wanes. Here’s how opportunistic brands grow market share right now:
- Tell the right story.
Consumers are feeling the pinch right now. They’re stressed and fearful of the future. Acknowledge the elephant in the room and show them how your product helps them through this time. - Remove barriers of purchase.
While brands like Ford Motor Company immediately announced “Employee Pricing – Ford Motor Company. From America. For America.”, following the initial tariff announcement, discounted prices aren’t always the answer. Do you offer financing? Can people purchase your product through alternative buckets (Health Savings Account, HELOC, Trade-In program)? - Lean on testimonials.
How is your product making similar people’s lives better?
Marketing has not been for the weak of heart over the past six months. In Q4 2024, marketers were hesitant with their ad dollars due to the uncertainty of the upcoming Presidential election. That was followed by the lame duck period and uncertainty of what policies would come with the new Administration. Now brands are trying to navigate the turbulent waters of tariffs and a floundering stock market.
Having been in marketing and advertising for the past 20+ years, and helping companies survive the Great Recession (2007-2009), and COVID19 Pandemic (2020-2021), I can confidently say there is opportunity in every market. When times are good, you take profit. When times are difficult, you take market share and grow your piece of the pie.
Brands who win in this market will meet their customers where they are at psychologically, and will tell a better story than their competitors.