When life provides you lemons, make lemonade. Proper?
There’s lots to glean from turbulent instances just like the 2008 recession and the newer COVID-19 pandemic. Inside these intervals are droves of case research proving that whether or not or not an organization comes out thriving is essentially depending on the power of its advertising and marketing. It’s no coincidence that those who leaned in are those nonetheless prospering.
Take Hyundai, for instance, a model that launched the Hyundai Assurance Program in 2009 (a response to the 2008 recession), a marketing campaign permitting clients to cease funds and return their automobiles within the occasion they have been laid off. And whereas U.S. auto gross sales dropped by greater than 20% in 2009, Hyundai’s U.S. gross sales increased by 8%.
Want additional convincing? Learn on for extra examples and knowledgeable recommendation.
Desk of Contents
Is one other recession really coming?
Predicting the following recession is like forecasting the climate (particularly for these of us, like myself, residing in temperamental London): Figuring out precisely when, why, and the way extreme a recession will probably be is difficult, contemplating the number of components impacting the markets that drive financial climates.
Nonetheless — and understandably — anticipation of the following recession is each pervasive and anxiety-inducing. One in three marketers assume a recession may have a fair greater influence on advertising and marketing than COVID-19. In line with HubSpot’s 2025 Marketing Report, 41% of entrepreneurs expressed destructive sentiments about financial circumstances impacting their advertising and marketing methods.
“I believe concern is what sits on the backside of all of this,” says Robyn MacMillan, inventive director and cofounder of The Everburn Company. “The manufacturers that may see previous the sort of hill are those that truly are capable of climate the storm.”
Is a recession imminent? Most likely (some argue we’re already initially of 1). However does that imply it’s best to panic? Positively not.
What Entrepreneurs Can Be taught From Previous Slowdowns
“Historical past has receipts,” says MacMillan. “Recessions don’t really cease folks from spending or buying. We nonetheless want companies. We nonetheless want platforms.”
New 2025 HubSpot data on client spending habits backs her declare, discovering that quite than slowing down or halting purchases, buyers are reacting to a possible recession just by spending extra rigorously.
“I interpret this as shoppers being much less panicked and extra pragmatic about potential downturns due to what they discovered about dealing with their monetary conditions from the financial results of COVID-19 and post-pandemic inflation,” says Tristen Taylor, who performed the survey.
In different phrases, your clients aren’t as panicked as you would possibly assume. So why must you be?
Take a breath and keep in mind: Manufacturers (you!) nonetheless want advertising and marketing — arguably much more throughout a recession than at some other time. And the manufacturers that keep adaptable and targeted can nonetheless develop.
Learn on to find high recession suggestions to remember as a marketer.
Ideas for Making ready and Navigating Recessions
1. Use information to attach with clients.
Recessions are important instances for entrepreneurs to audit their relationships with clients.
An important step in recession-proofing your technique is gathering real-time information on client attitudes, preferences, and behaviors. With that perception, you possibly can refine your advertising and marketing efforts — making certain your messaging is just not solely well timed, however actually resonates together with your viewers.
“We make too many assumptions as entrepreneurs,” says MacMillan. “Take away these assumptions and actually connect with the information, see what sentiment evaluation you are able to do to then see what your client wants proper now.”
2. Don’t underestimate the facility of social media — even when your funds is reduce.
When requested which advertising and marketing ways they’d prioritize if financial uncertainty continues, 23% of respondents in a 2025 HubSpot survey pointed to social media advertising and marketing. In the event you ask me, this quantity ought to be larger, contemplating HubSpot’s State of Shopper Traits report discovered that social media is the top channel for product discovery for Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X.
Whereas a recession typically means tighter budgets, that doesn’t imply your social technique ought to take a again seat.
Listed below are a number of high-impact, budget-friendly focus areas to maintain your social presence robust with out overspending:
Person-Generated Content material
Person-Generated Content material (UGC) — something created and shared by clients — is among the strongest advertising and marketing instruments. For one, it’s free. However extra importantly, it drives natural belief, real engagement, and a way of relatability.
We noticed a surge in UGC in the course of the pandemic. Why? “As a result of folks had extra time,” says MacMillan. And for a lot of in-house advertising and marketing groups, it grew to become a lifeline.
MacMillan vividly remembers one shopper, a cybersecurity firm in Gothenburg, Sweden, that thrived by tapping into the facility of UGC and leaning into relatable, on a regular basis case research. Fairly than spotlighting advanced product options or tech-heavy stats, they targeted on human tales — just like the one about an aged mother who unintentionally clicked a phishing hyperlink disguised as a promotion from M&S, which led to a checking account breach.
“Their scalability went off the charts as quickly as they leaned extra into that humanistic facet that folks crave throughout a fearful time,” MacMillan provides.
New Platforms and Options
In one other latest HubSpot weblog, I wrote in regards to the social media platforms entrepreneurs ought to be keeping an eye on in 2025. The identical recommendation stands on the recession-prep entrance.
Leveraging rising options and developments like reside video and audio will help your model keep related and related. In case your model is already lively on Instagram (chances are high, it’s), think about how Threads can complement your attain and engagement.
Plus, by no means underestimate the facility of content material that entertains. In nerve-racking instances, folks crave causes to smile and have interaction much more. Behind-the-scenes content material can also be efficient for producing belief, giving your viewers a real take a look at the folks and processes behind your model — one thing clients crave in uncertainty. Partake Foods, which coincidentally scaled massively in the course of the pandemic, does an amazing job with this (in addition to UGC).
3. Lean into the model loyalty you must continue to grow your viewers.
Closely think about sharpening your technique round personalized experiences — customized and individualized curations of messages, content material, merchandise, or experiences. Whether or not you provide a reduction code to your most frequent clients or ship them a personalised card thanking them for his or her loyalty, little tokens of appreciation can go a great distance.
“Actually lean into that neighborhood you’ve created — ensure that they’re engaged, that they really feel seen, heard and valued, quite than simply being service,” MacMillan. “They’ll then change into advocates and associates.”
4. Promote low-cost or high-value merchandise.
Whether or not you’re promoting reasonably priced necessities or premium items, the important thing throughout a recession is positioning: The way you body your worth makes all of the distinction.
“In case your merchandise are cheaper or present higher bang for the buck than opponents’, give attention to gaining market share from clients who beforehand swore by pricier choices,” says Maxwell Iskiev, who leads analysis initiatives at HubSpot.
On the flip facet, Iskiev correctly provides: “In the meantime, luxurious manufacturers can give attention to advertising and marketing the added worth clients get for procuring with them. For instance, a model promoting hand-stitched leather-based wallets can place itself as a longer-lasting different to a reduction pockets.”
Reasonably priced Instruments and Know-how to Leverage
Probably the greatest methods to streamline efforts in notably turbulent instances is automating repetitive and guide duties — from e mail advertising and marketing to social posts and advert campaigns. This not solely saves time, however frees you as much as give attention to high-impact, strategic initiatives. AI may assist optimize your efforts, enhancing focusing on, and driving down prices.
Beneath are a number of instruments I like that you may also discover useful.
1. Marketing Hub
Whereas new know-how can really feel intimidating to implement at first, HubSpot’s choices are implausible instruments you ought to be leaning into, when you’re not already.
HubSpot’s Marketing Hub comes outfitted with AI and automation baked in, streamlining the whole lot from onboarding to day-to-day use, even for groups that aren’t extremely technical.
In my expertise, the automated workflows, information assortment for every lead, and prompts on how one can join with every prospect make Advertising and marketing Hub a useful asset for entrepreneurs. In line with our analysis, automating fundamental duties can save entrepreneurs as much as 2.5 hours every day — which means they’ve extra time to put money into high-level duties.
I additionally need to spotlight a brand new function that comes with the Skilled and Enterprise plans: Breeze social media agent. It helps you from starting to finish together with your social media technique. It creates and automates a multichannel social media technique to your model by creating belongings and posting them at perfect instances. Breeze additionally retains observe of efficiency metrics so you possibly can see engagement and success ranges. It additional analyzes viewers information to broaden your attain.
As I discussed above, natural social media is a cost-effective and extremely efficient type of advertising and marketing, so including AI that can assist you maximize its potential is a should in my view.
Core Options
- Automation of guide duties to avoid wasting entrepreneurs time.
- AI brokers to help with social media administration and help guests to your web site.
- Lead scoring instruments primarily based on buyer information for focused outreach.
- Automated personalised e mail campaigns to succeed in your viewers at scale.
- Knowledge assortment and evaluation offered in clear dashboards so you possibly can perceive your clients and tweak your technique accordingly.
Pricing: Free, Starter – $15 per seat/month, Skilled – $890/month for 3 seats, and Enterprise – $3,600/month for five seats.
2. Buffer
If you wish to zero in on social media advertising and marketing, one other reasonably priced automation instrument for social media I like is Buffer.
Every little thing you want for a profitable social media marketing campaign is included on this single software program instrument with an easy interface. I can merely toggle the tabs on the high to Create, Publish, Analyze, and Have interaction for each bit of content material. Buffer connects with all main social platforms, so you possibly can design and format your content material in response to the necessities of every, plus schedule issues to put up at the perfect instances.
I additionally like that I can see how my content material is doing throughout all social platforms in a single easy-to-use dashboard. Lastly, Buffer retains observe of all of your posts and viewers feedback so you possibly can reply with out something slipping by the cracks. It makes the overwhelming process of staying on high of all social engagement manageable.
Core Options
- Create your campaigns with their design instruments.
- Publish and observe your social posts from a single platform.
- AI assistants aid you at each step of the method.
- Content material collaboration for a number of teammates to work collectively seamlessly.
- Social channels: Bluesky, Google Enterprise Profile, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, Fb, Instagram, Threads, Mastodon, and X.
Pricing: Free – one consumer account and three channels; Necessities – $5/month for one consumer and one channel, however extra options; Staff – $10/month for limitless customers and one channel with all their options.
3. Hootsuite
One other all-in-one social media administration platform, Hootsuite helps you create, handle, and sharpen your social media technique.
I believe its social listening function is admittedly useful for locating and evaluating developments, hashtags, subjects, and occasions throughout social platforms. Staying on high of this stuff will aid you monitor model sentiment, observe efficiency, and predict developments. One other benefit of their social listening instrument is that yow will discover UGC and influencers who will work properly together with your model and providing.
Not solely does Hootsuite aid you with natural social media, however you may also handle paid advertisements by your Hootsuite account. Your natural and paid methods can work collectively seamlessly by watching what performs properly and what doesn’t, and monitoring your advertisements throughout all platforms.
Core Options
- Publish and schedule all of your social posts from one platform.
- Observe and report on put up, marketing campaign, and advert efficiency.
- Inbox to gather all feedback and DMs throughout your social belongings so you possibly can reply in a well timed method and by no means lose observe.
- OwlyWriter AI helps write copy to your social posts, whether or not it’s captions, hashtags, or long-form posts. It additionally generates concepts so that you by no means get caught.
Pricing: Normal – $99 per consumer/month; Superior – $249 per consumer/month; Enterprise – customized pricing.
4. Canva
In search of a instrument to help with design? Canva stays a go-to inventive powerhouse that each marketer ought to have of their again pocket.
You’ll be able to design something with Canva. It options 1000’s of templates and a drag-and-drop editor that permits you to shortly personalize something to your model. I take advantage of it on a regular basis, and I really like the flexibility it provides as a result of I can create social posts with the correct format for every platform, design net pages, and create displays to share with my clients.
I particularly respect that I can shortly create social posts that look skilled and match my branding with Canva. I can create a constant aesthetic throughout all social channels utilizing the identical fundamental template from Canva.
Core Options
- The picture editor lets you do fundamental picture enhancing all inside Canva.
- The brand new AI assistant, whereas nonetheless in improvement, is a enjoyable instrument since you simply must enter a immediate together with your thought and Canva will shortly generate a number of designs. You’ll be able to then additional immediate it to change one you want however aren’t fairly happy with.
- There are over 400,000 professionally designed templates in Canva’s template library. In the event you don’t need to begin with a clean web page, one in every of these templates is certain to provide the basis to begin designing.
- The drag-and-drop editor enables you to visually design your inventive belongings with none coding.
Pricing: Canva Free; Canva Professional – $120/12 months for one individual; Canva Groups – $100 per individual/12 months; Canva Enterprise – customized pricing.
Keep in mind: It’s not your first (or final) unprecedented time.
“Don’t amputate the arm that feeds your future,” warns MacMillan.
In different phrases, reducing advertising and marketing completely throughout robust instances would possibly provide short-term aid, however it might probably value you long-term progress. Turbulent instances take a look at resilience, however in addition they reward manufacturers that proceed to indicate up with readability, creativity, and consistency.
We’ve discovered from previous recessions that those that make investments thoughtfully of their advertising and marketing not solely survive however typically come out stronger.
Editor’s observe: This text was initially printed in March 2023 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
