Marketing during Recession

By Staff Writer

Updated on Jun 04, 2023

The macroeconomic headwinds challenge many B2B (business-to-business) startups. Cuts in CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) spending, longer sales cycle, and smaller deal size are commonplace. And, the era of free money for growth at any cost is over – at least in this cycle.

Startups are hunkering down, striving to lower the burn to lengthen the runway. Unfortunately, one of the casualties of this crisis is many founders tend to deemphasize marketing. And yet that is the worst possible strategic decision. Of course, pruning marketing expenses is prudent, but that does not mean relying less on marketing for providing air cover to the sales team, being on the radar of buyers’ choice set, and building long-term brand equity.

During the days of irrational exuberance and the froth of colossal funding rounds at exponentially high valuations, the mantra is to hire, hire, and hire more people. Attracting high-caliber talent is a strategic imperative, and exceptional associates can catapult a startup from an also-ran to a star. However, I’d characterize much of the hiring as check-box hiring – a growth marketer, a social media marketer, an SEO specialist, a PR coordinator, an analyst relations associate, a product marketer, and what have you. Often many of these roles overlap, and the output from all this staffing does not seem to exceed what a barebones skeletal crew accomplished pre-funding.

Here are a few frugal marketing ideas for startups to weather the storm and emerge more robust and better through the recessionary environment.

  • The World is your Oyster: There is talent everywhere, and it is up to startups to harness global talent to accomplish marketing goals and objectives. Platforms like 99Designs for crowdsourcing design work, WriterAccess or Scribe for freelance writers, and Fiverr and Upwork for sourcing every kind of digital marketing talent make it possible for you to get all types of marketing services. Of course, at times wading through the scores of profiles to find the right talent may be frustrating, but with a little effort, one can assemble a team with a treasure trove of global talent at a fraction of the cost of full-timers in major metros.
  • Content is STILL King: Even as they pay lip service to concepts like thought leadership and content marketing, many startups overlook the importance of consistency and quality. Content marketing takes time and effort, and it is one of the cheapest ways to drive inbound marketing. If your startup hasn’t published a blog in more than a month, you will need to seriously question your commitment to content marketing. Develop a cluster of keywords (core and semantic), develop a topic tree, and publish frequently in different formats – blog posts, short videos, case studies, whitepapers, infographics, etc.

To make the most of content, go beyond your walled garden (your website, YouTube channel, etc.). Publish articles on Medium. Answer questions on Quora. Publish educational videos on venues like BrightTalk. Generating primary research can be a force multiplier.

  • Media Relations: Media Relations are a strategic foundation for successful marketing. But many startup execs equate PR success to getting a story in Wall Street Journal or New York Times. Of course, there may be such moments. But most media relations are about securing editorial space in external venues such as blogs, podcasts, vlogs, and the like. Some independent experts in your area may have more following than a mainstream publication and a more relevant audience. Guest posts, being an expert commenter, and being an interviewee are some ways to gain traction. Realize that many of the new-wave digital venues need fresh content and divergent perspectives to satiate the needs of their audience.
  • Analyst Relationships: Startups often feel if they don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars to enter into paid relationships with analyst firms, they cannot reap any rewards. Most reputable analyst firms offer free briefings; if your product/service is compelling, they will include it in their reports. The paid relationships let you use their report excerpts in your marketing campaigns and/or advisory relationships. (Don’t get me wrong. If your budget permits, securing marketing rights to their reports, infographics, and two-by-two matrixes can be valuable.) Unless you are dealing with a pay-for-play outfit, you can move the needle on analyst relationships without shelling out significant sums.

Search Marketing: On-page SEO (Search Engine Optimization), including technical factors, and off-page backlinks are critical success factors in B2B marketing. SEO is not a standalone activity; it synergizes with content marketing, media relations, and analyst relations. Attention to detail for items such as metatags, load times, alt text, and selective focus on core and semantic keywords as a part of a topic cluster will boost your organic traffic.

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